MOSCOW – Russia said on Monday that international peace talks onAfghanistan have been postponed following a phone conversation betweenForeign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani.

Moscow had been preparing to host peace talks on September 4 and hadinvited Taliban representatives to participate.

The Russian foreign ministry said that Ghani had “in principle” supportedthe idea of such a meeting but said Afghanistan needed more time to developa “consolidated” position including ongoing changes in the government.

“An agreement was reached to jointly work on a new date of the meetingthrough diplomatic channels,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Afghan government faces fierce criticism over an increasingly deadlyinsurgency.

On Sunday Ghani rejected the resignations of the intelligence chief and theinterior and defence ministers, demanding they help bolster the country sdefences.

Earlier this month Ghani offered a conditional three-month ceasefire to theTaliban, a move welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17years of war.

Zamir Kabulov, special representative of the Russian president onAfghanistan, had earlier said the talks would be “in the framework oflaunching a process of national reconciliation in Afghanistan”.

In April 2017, Moscow hosted an international conference on Afghanistanwith representatives from Afghanistan, India, Iran, China, Pakistan, andfive former Soviet republics in Central Asia.

The US was invited to that meeting but did not participate.

Russia and its allies called on the Taliban to lay down weapons andnegotiate with the Afghan government directly. Moscow also declared itsreadiness to serve as a platform for dialogue. – APP/AFP