In a Twitter thread, the U.S. State Department special envoy for the Afghan peace, Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad, said he has met with the Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdul Aziz Kamilov and the country’s special representative Irgashev in Tashkent and then was joined by the foreign ministers of the rest C5+1 countries.
The participants discussed the latest on the Afghan peace process and a vital role the Central Asia has played and will “continue to play in pursuit of peace,” Amb. Khalilzad said. How these countries “will benefit from peace with increased regional connectivity, trade and development” also discussed among the participants, according to the U.S. envoy.
We will need to work together to promote & encourage a political settlement when intra-Afghan Negotiations begin. Work towards the shared goals of economic resilience, regional connectivity & integration starts now,” Mr. Khalilzad further added.
The U.S. envoy departed on June 28, according to a statement by the State Department, to travel to Doha, Tashkent and Islamabad to urge support for all Afghans to meet their remaining pledges ahead of intra-Afghan talks, especially timely prisoner releases and reduction in violence.
The State Department also announced in the statement that the U.S. peace envoy, Khalilzad, will not be going to the capital Kabul because of the dangers presented by the coronavirus pandemic and instead will hold video conference with Afghan leaders.
According to reports, Amb. Khalilzad yesterday held his first video conference with the Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and the Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation Dr. Abdullah Abdullah.
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