The Afghan peace negotiations between the government and the Taliban began this morning, Saturday, in the Qatari capital, Doha, with a large international and regional presence, in a historic and serious step towards achieving sustainable peace in Afghanistan.
At the opening of these talks, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said that he hoped the envoys would serve the Afghan people, adding that his country would spare no effort to support the Afghan peace negotiations alongside international efforts.
The Qatari minister emphasized that the only way to end the conflict in Afghanistan is to cease fire and start dialogue, noting that the Afghan peace agreement must be based on neither a winner nor a loser.
The opening session witnessed the speeches by video link of a number of the most senior officials and diplomats in the world, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the foreign ministers of China, India, Pakistan and Turkey, and the European Union foreign policy official.
For his part, the head of the Afghan Reconciliation Committee, Abdullah Abdullah, said that the Afghan people hope for the success of the peace negotiations, and indicated that this day will be remembered as the end of the suffering of their people, thanking the Taliban for their response.
Abdullah added that the Afghan people hope to end the war and establish a constitutional system that will achieve stability in the country, stressing that the current conflict is not victorious, and all are losers if they do not respond to the will of the people.
In his speech at the opening of the negotiations, the head of the political bureau of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said that they want to achieve peace and stability in the country, and that the interests of all spectrums of the people must be taken into account, stressing that Afghanistan must be an independent country.
For his part, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - who participated in the opening ceremony in Doha - said that the Afghan people have a historic opportunity to start a new path for the country, welcoming the Taliban’s commitment not to host “terrorist groups,” and affirming his country's support for a united and sovereign Afghanistan in internal peace with its neighbors.
Pompeo pointed out that comprehensive negotiations are an opportunity to overcome divisions to achieve a lasting peace that achieves the interests of the Afghan people, adding that the best option in Afghanistan is the transfer of power, "and we do not seek to impose our order on anyone."
US President Donald Trump had pressed for the withdrawal of his country's forces and an end to the longest war fought by the United States, which began nearly 20 years ago, when it invaded Afghanistan and toppled the rule of the Taliban movement after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The UN mission in Afghanistan welcomed the face-to-face peace talks between the Afghan parties in the Qatari capital, and urged all Afghan leaders and negotiators to seize the "historic opportunity" to end the fighting and enter a new era of peace and stability.