Foreign Ministry called on the parties to the conflict in Afghanistan to reach a long-term truce

17 June 2020

 

The establishment of a general and lasting ceasefire in Afghanistan should be one of the key issues of the upcoming inter-Afghan talks, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday following consultations between Russia, the United States and Afghanistan in a videoconference format. The talks were attended by the Russian Special Presidential  Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, his American counterpart Zalmay Khalilzad and acting IRA Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar.


Earlier, Kabulov told RIA Novosti that during an online meeting, the Afghan side confirmed its intention to complete the process of releasing Taliban prisoners in the near future, which was a condition for starting direct inter-Afghan negotiations.


"Russia and the United States welcomed the intention of the government of Afghanistan to complete the process of releasing five thousand Taliban in the coming days. The sides also noted the need to reduce violence as a confidence-building measure and stressed that the establishment of a general and long - term ceasefire should be one of the key issues on the agenda of inter-Afghan talks," the statement reads.


Hanif Atmar separately emphasized the importance of expanding the format of the Troika of Russia-the United States-China by including the main regional and international participants in the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, the Russian Foreign Ministry added.

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Creative Commons