KABUL – The Taliban will send representatives to multilateral talks inRussia on war-torn Afghanistan this month, the militant group said Tuesday,as the international community ratchets up efforts to end the 17-yearconflict.
Moscow announced Saturday it would host the meeting on November 9 todiscuss ways to kickstart peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban.
In a statement posted on social media, the Taliban said it would dispatch”high-ranking” representatives from its political office in Qatar.
“This conference is not about negotiating with any particular side, ratherit is a conference about holding comprehensive discussions on finding apeaceful solution to the Afghan quandary and ending the Americanoccupation,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said.
The Taliban last month appointed five former Guantanamo Bay detainees, whohad been swapped for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl in 2014, to its politicaloffice.
They have the authorisation to “talk about peace”, a senior Talibanofficial told AFP.
The confirmation comes a day after Afghanistan s High Peace Council, agovernment body responsible for reconciliation efforts with the militants,said it would send a delegation.
Moscow has also invited representatives from the United States as well asIndia, Iran, China, Pakistan and five former Soviet republics in CentralAsia.
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Pakistan, which has long been accused of providing support to the AfghanTaliban, would “definitely” attend, foreign ministry spokesman MuhammadFaisal told AFP.
The US embassy in Kabul did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
The Moscow meeting was initially scheduled to take place in September, butwas postponed after Kabul insisted that the process should be Afghan-led.
The meeting comes at a sensitive time.
Newly appointed US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been trying to convincethe Taliban to agree to negotiate an end to the war and there are fears theRussian meeting could derail those efforts.
A US government watchdog last week said Kabul s control of Afghanistan hadslipped in recent months as local security forces suffered recordcasualties while making minimal or no progress against the Taliban. -APP/AFP
