Afghanistan: peace talks announced in Qatar
The release of some 5,000 Taliban prisoners was one of the conditions for starting the peace talks.
Here, the Taliban released on August 13 pass through Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul.
National Security Council of Afghanistan / Handout via REUTERS
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The Taliban and the Afghan government will begin direct peace negotiations on Saturday, September 12 in Doha.
These talks, which have been delayed for more than six months, are expected to attempt to end nearly 19 years of conflict between the two sides in Afghanistan.
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"
Unless last-minute problems arise, the (government) team of negotiators will be leaving for Doha tomorrow, and we hope that talks will take place soon after, possibly on Saturday,
" one told AFP. government source.
The Afghan presidency, on Twitter, then announced the departure for Doha on Friday of its 21 negotiators.
The Taliban have announced that they are ready to participate in the negotiations.
"
There is a good possibility that negotiations will start on Saturday,
" a Taliban source confirmed in a statement.
Then insist on their intention to "
move the negotiation process forward
" and "
to bring comprehensive peace and a pure Islamic system within the framework of (their) Islamic values and (their) higher national interests
".
The last Taliban detained released
"
The last major problem, which was the transfer of six Taliban, is solved, while they are transferred as it is in Doha,
" said a government source.
Information confirmed by the Taliban.
Several countries, including Australia and
France
, oppose the release of these detainees, guilty of killing their nationals in Afghanistan.
Scheduled for March, the unprecedented peace talks between the two camps have been regularly postponed due to persistent disagreements over a prisoner exchange: some 5,000 Taliban against a thousand members of the Afghan forces.
This provision, enshrined in an American-Taliban agreement signed in February in Qatar, which confirms the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan by mid-2021, from the outset aroused hostility from Kabul, which did not sign the text.
The Afghan authorities were particularly reluctant to release the last 400 insurgents, accused or convicted of serious crimes, whom they finally
released last week
, with the exception of a handful of detainees, some of whom are on their way to the Qatar.
Mike Pompeo in Doha
Donald Trump immediately announced that his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would leave Washington on Thursday evening "
for a historic trip to Doha
".
"
We get along very well with the Taliban in Afghanistan,
" assured the US president of the insurgents with whom Washington signed a
historic agreement
on February 29
.
Colder, Mike Pompeo called on the belligerents not to “
waste
” this “
historic opportunity
” to end the war in Afghanistan.
"
I urge negotiators to show the pragmatism, restraint and flexibility necessary for this process to be successful,
" he said in a statement.
The Taliban have pledged not to let terrorists operate in areas they control, to reduce violence and to negotiate directly with the government in Kabul for the first time.
In return, the US military announced a timetable for the total withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan.
Despite the successive postponements of the talks and a still high level of violence, the United States has so far kept its withdrawal schedule, and intends to announce a further downsizing.
This would allow Donald Trump to display a record of "
peacemaker
" within two months of the November 3 presidential election in the United States, despite his setbacks in the most serious international crises of his mandate.
(With
AFP
)
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