The Taliban renews to Europe its commitment to peace, and Kabul denies that the movement controls 90% of Afghanistan's borders

The spokesman for the political office of the Taliban, Muhammad Naim, said in a series of tweets on the social networking site "Twitter" that the deputy head of the political bureau of the movement, Abdul Salam Hanafi, participated in an online meeting with representatives of European countries, the United States, the United Nations mission and Qatar.

He added that Hanafi stressed that the movement's policy towards peace has not changed despite its strong position on the ground, and that it prefers to resolve the issue through dialogue, and that the movement will not allow any groups to use the territory of Afghanistan against the security of other countries.

Hanafi called on the international community to play an active role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, and stressed that the Taliban's control of about two hundred districts in the past two months is evidence of popular support for the movement, indicating that it will adhere to human and women's rights, education and interaction with the world in the light of Islamic law and national interests.

On the other hand, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said that the statements of the Taliban and their "claim to control 90% of the country's borders with neighboring countries are completely untrue."

The ministry added that government forces are imposing their control over the borders, and that what the Taliban announced in this regard is "pure lies."

"It is baseless propaganda," Deputy Defense Ministry spokesman Fouad Aman told AFP.

Border control

The Taliban had announced earlier yesterday that it had seized more than one border crossing and vast areas of the border lands over the past weeks.

The movement's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement to the Russian news agency Sputnik that his movement now controls 90% of the Afghan border with neighboring countries.

He stressed that the movement's fighters control the entire Afghan-Tajik border.

In turn, the state agency RIA Novosti attributed to Zabihullah Mujahid his statement that the Afghan borders with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran are under the control of the movement.

Sputnik also quoted him as saying that the movement asked Turkey to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, stressing its readiness to negotiate with Turkey regarding the withdrawal of its forces, in Doha or anywhere else.

Zabihullah Mujahid added that the movement does not want to be in a state of hostility with Turkey, which he described as a brotherly Islamic country.

"We have previously rejected Turkey's position and indicated that after the departure of the United States from Afghanistan, we will not allow foreign forces to remain in the country, for any reason," he said.

meeting in Doha

Meanwhile, an Afghan government source confirmed to Al-Jazeera that the two delegations of the Afghan negotiations met in Doha, and confirmed the continuation and acceleration of the negotiations.

The source said that the next meeting of the Afghan negotiating delegations in Doha will be held within days and will discuss the ceasefire.

The Taliban has been leading an all-out offensive against Afghan forces since May, at a time when international forces began the final withdrawal from the country, which is scheduled to end at the end of August.

American statement

On Thursday, the United States called on the Taliban and the Afghan government to "immediately end the violence and agree to a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire."

"We call on the Taliban and all parties to immediately end the violence and agree to a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire," the US embassy in Afghanistan said in a statement, according to the Afghan Tolo News channel.

The statement also called on the Afghan parties to "fully participate in the peace negotiations to end the suffering of the Afghan people and pave the way for a comprehensive political settlement that benefits all Afghans and ensures that the country never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists."

The embassy's statement comes after the international diplomatic missions in Afghanistan called in a joint statement, Monday, for the Taliban to stop its "continued military attacks", warning that it "frustrates efforts to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict and harms and displaces civilians."

The statement was issued by the missions of Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European delegation, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.