New Desk
The US on Friday welcomed the “positive developments” leading to the imminent start of intra-Afghan talks, after the Taliban indicated that negotiations could commence within a week.
In a series of tweets, Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington’s special envoy for Afghanistan, urged all sides to start the talks “immediately” and “prevent spoilers from undermining the process.”
“We welcome the Taliban statement specifying they will participate in IAN [intra-Afghan negotiations] within one week of the prisoner release commitment outlined in our agreement. Although many practical details need to be worked out, these developments are all very positive,” he said.
He said the intra-Afghan talks were a “key objective” of the US’ diplomacy and hailed the ongoing prisoner exchanges that were a prerequisite for the negotiations. “Prisoner releases have reached a new milestone. We welcome the government now having exceeded 3000 Talib prisoners released and the Taliban 500+. It is important that the process continues and the prisoners release roadblock resolved,” Khalilzad said.
