US-Taliban agreement complicates intra-Afghan negotiations
Kabul, Sep 27 (efe-epa).- With negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban stalled 16 days after they started in Doha, insurgents revealed on Sunday that one of the disagreements between the two sides is the role their agreement with the United States will play in the process.
“We say the intra-Afghan talks should be a part of the Doha agreement, signed between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the United States and should be (held) based on that agreement,” Abdul Salam Hanafi, a member of the Taliban negotiation team said in a video message.
Hanafi said the issue with the US-Taliban agreement as a parental document is one of two points that remain unresolved in reaching an accord on the rules and regulations for intra-Afghan talks.
The differences over regulations and rules have hindered the two sides for almost 16 days in holding main meetings to discuss the agenda or other topics of the negotiation.
“We have entered (the intra-Afghan talks) based on the Doha agreement, this has been a part of the Doha agreement,” Hanafi said.
The government delegation has said that if the talks are to be based on the Doha agreement, then the pacts and declarations between US-NATO and the Afghan government should be also accepted as parental documents.
“Another option is that the intra-Afghan talks should be held based on national interests and the recommendations of the Loya Jirga (grand assembly of elders),” an Afghan official told Efe on the condition of anonymity.
Hanafi said the Taliban hopes these remaining differences between the two sides can be resolved soon so the negotiations can enter into the next phase which is discussions over the agenda of the talks.
“We are honestly trying and committed to resolve the current problem of Afghanistan through talks,” he added, referring to the 29-year long war in Afghanistan.
The long-awaited intra-Afghan talks between the two sides were opened on 12 September after a six-month delay over a controversial prisoner exchange.
