MONITORING (SW) – The trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan has declared that a sustainable peace can be achieved only through an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process that aims a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire along with an inclusive political settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Haneef Atmar reiterated their commitment to support a peaceful, sovereign, independent, democratic and united Afghanistan.
The joint statement recognized that sustainable peace could be achieved only through an “inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process” that aims for a permanent and comprehensive cease-fire along with an inclusive political settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan.
The ministers emphasized their support for the Afghan peace process and the ongoing peace negotiations in Doha for the achievement of a “just and durable” political settlement. They also recognized the efforts of Turkey, Qatar and the UN to hold a high-level meeting in Istanbul aimed at “giving momentum” to the ongoing Afghanistan peace negotiations.
The meeting “recalled that the Istanbul Conference had been postponed after extensive discussions with all relevant parties with a view to holding the Conference when conditions for making meaningful progress would be more favorable,” the statement said.
The trilateral meeting also “acknowledged the role of the regional and neighboring countries, in particular, Pakistan and Iran in hosting Afghan refugees for more than four decades and called for creating conducive conditions in Afghanistan for their voluntary, safe, dignified, expeditious and sustainable repatriation through a well-resourced plan,” it added.
Ankara, Islamabad, and Kabul urged the international community to continue to assist host countries in taking care of the essential needs of Afghan refugees and to provide support to the repatriation and reintegration efforts of the Afghan government.
ENDS
