Ankara | Turkey is scheduled to host Afghan peace talks in Istanbul next month, its foreign minister said on Friday, as the United States tries to boost the talks.
This meeting of representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban “is scheduled for April,” said Mevlüt Cavusoglu, quoted by the state news agency Anadolu.
“We are discussing the precise date and the content” of these talks, he added.
The United States recently submitted a new peace proposal to authorities in Kabul and the Taliban, as the May 1 deadline approaches for Washington to withdraw its military from Afghanistan.
This plan provides in particular for the creation of a “new inclusive government”, according to a letter from the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken revealed by the Afghan media.
On Monday, Washington called for an “acceleration” of the peace process in Afghanistan, saying that progress was “possible”.
In order to achieve this, Washington had proposed to relaunch peace talks between Kabul and the insurgents “in the coming weeks” in Turkey, while in the meantime instituting a 90-day “reduction of violence” period to avoid violence. traditional Taliban spring offensive.
Inter-Afghan peace negotiations were also launched in September in Doha, Qatar.
The talks in Istanbul “will not be an alternative to the process taking place in Qatar, but will provide support,” said Cavusoglu, who was in Doha on Thursday.
“What is our goal? It is to extend the discussions between the Taliban and the (Afghan) government by focusing on obtaining concrete results, ”he added.
The Turkish minister also added that Ankara would appoint a special representative for Afghanistan to prepare for this meeting.