Quartet Meeting Focused On Direct Talks With Taliban
KABUL: (MEP) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan (MoFA) issued a statement saying the participants of the quadrilateral meeting in Islamabad were urgently emphasized on direct talks between the representatives of Afghan government and the Taliban group.
The statement added, the quadrilateral meeting on Afghan peace process concluded with the next meeting to be held in capital Kabul on Monday, January 18th.
The meeting, attended by senior representatives from Afghanistan, China, the U.S and Pakistan, was convened to map out the way forward with regards to the Afghan peace and reconciliation process.
The statement read that: “The group reiterated the commitment of their countries to the realization of objectives expressed in their statement from the quadrilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia Conference in Islamabad on 9 December 2015.
The statement further added “The participants emphasized the immediate need for direct talks between representatives of the Government of Afghanistan and representatives from Taliban groups in a peace process that aims to preserve Afghanistan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“All four countries underscored the importance of bringing an end to the conflict in Afghanistan that continues to inflict senseless violence on the Afghan people and also breeds insecurity throughout the region,” according to the statement.
Monday’s delegations were led by Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aziz Ahmad Chaudhry, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard G. Olson and China’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Ambassador Deng Xijun.
MoFA also noted that the discussions focused on undertaking a clear and realistic assessment of the opportunities for Peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, anticipated obstacles and measures that would help create conducive environment for commencement of peace talks, with the shared goal of reducing violence and establishing lasting peace in Afghanistan.
“The meeting adopted terms for the work of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) and agreed to continue regular meetings to advance the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan,” the statement added.
The group would hold talks on “roadmap” which is about to be held on 18 January 2016 in Kabul.
