Kabul, Taliban end Doha talks inconclusively, agree to meet again

Kabul, Jul 19 (EFE).- The Afghan government and the Taliban have agreed to hold fresh discussions after peace talks in Doha ended over the weekend without an agreement over the situation in Afghanistan, which has witnessed unprecedented violence since the foreign troops began pulling out in May.

“We concluded the two days of intensive talks with the Taliban in Doha. We exchanged views on core issues concerning the two parties. We listened to each other’s point of views, interpretations & the ways forward to end the conflict through a comprehensive political settlement,” Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, tweeted on Monday.

He added that the Afghan government and the Taliban had agreed to continue talks to “seek a political settlement to the current crisis, avoid civilian casualties, facilitate humanitarian assistance & medical supplies to tackle Covid-19 pandemic.”

Abdullah stressed that during the negotiations, the government reiterated its commitment to “a just & durable peace, an end to violence & resolving the current crisis through a negotiated political settlement.”

A high-level delegation headed by Abdullah had traveled to Doha on Friday with full authority to negotiate with the insurgents over reducing violence in the country and moving forward political negotiations to end the war.

The delegation was formed last weeks in an attempt to revive the peace talks that began last year but have remained stuck without any agreement over a possible ceasefire.

In a joint statement issued after the latest round of talks, both sides agreed on the need to speed up negotiations to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict as soon as possible.

Peace negotiations between the two sides began in September 2020 but were paused in January and have remained stuck for over six months, with both Kabul and the insurgents blaming each other for the lack of progress.

Efforts to restart intra-Afghan talks come amid an unprecedented spike in violence in the country, with the Taliban making rapid territorial gains after the United States and NATO began the final phase of withdrawing their troops on May 1.

Since May, the Taliban have captured more than 130 district centers across Afghanistan, especially in the northern parts of the country. EFE