The United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said Saturday he had the “most productive session” with the Taliban in the past six days, adding they made ‘substantive progress” on all four parts of the negotiations.
The focus of the talks are on US troops pullout still in Afghanistan, counter-terrorism assurances, intra-Afghan dialogue and comprehensive ceasefire.
“The last 6 days of talks have been the most productive session to date,” he said in a tweet Saturday. “We made substantive progress on ALL 4 parts of a peace agreement: counter-terrorism assurances, troop withdrawal, participation in intra-Afghan dialogue & negotiations, and permanent & comprehensive ceasefire.”
The last 6 days of talks have been the most productive session to date. We made substantive progress on ALL 4 parts of a peace agreement: counter-terrorism assurances, troop withdrawal, participation in intra-Afghan dialogue & negotiations, and permanent & comprehensive ceasefire
— U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) July 6, 2019
Meanwhile, Khalilzad said the talks were paused for two days supporting the intra-Afghan dialogue, where more than 50 delegates from Kabul and 17 members of the Taliban will attend.
He described the intra-Afghan dialogue as a “critical milestone” in the Afghan peace process.
“We’re pausing talks today to support intra-Afghan dialogue (an intra-Afghan conference for peace), a critical milestone in the #AfghanPeaceProcess,” he said. “There is still important work left to be done before we have an agreement.”
· Countdown Begins for Intra-Afghan Dialogue in Doha
· Doha Talks Bridge to Intra-Afghan Dialogues
It comes after Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen confirmed in a tweet last week the intra-Afghan dialogue will take place coming weekend in Doha, saying at least 60 individuals will attend the gathering in a bid pushing through the peace process.
Intra-Afghan dialogues due on July 7-8 in Doha is co-hosted by Qatar and Germany.
The seventh round of talks in Doha, Qatar will resume on the 9th of July.
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