Afghan authorities themselves are delaying the issue of a prisoner exchange with the Taliban, after which inter-Afghan negotiations should begin and a ceasefire should be declared. The sooner both sides complete the process, the sooner the civil war in the country will end, Russian President's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov told RIA Novosti.
Earlier, a representative of the National Security Council of Afghanistan, Javid Faisal, said that last week was "the deadliest week in 19 years," while radical Taliban militants have carried out more than 400 attacks in Afghanistan over the past week and killed almost 300 members of the national security forces.
"It is up to the Afghan authorities to share responsibility - they are delaying the POW exchange because an inter-Afghan process will be launched and a ceasefire declared after the exchange. The sooner they release Taliban prisoners and the Taliban release those they have committed to, the sooner the civil war will end," Kabulov said.
The issue of holding inter-Afghan negotiations is still "hanging in the air," he said, since the prisoner exchange condition has not been fulfilled.
Earlier, it was reported that the planned inter-Afghan negotiations could take place in Doha. However, the date has not yet been determined.
In late February, at a ceremony in Qatar, the U.S. and Afghan radical group "Taliban" signed the first peace agreement in more than 18 years of war, which provides for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in 14 months and the beginning of inter-Afghan dialogue in March after prisoner exchange.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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