The head of the government’s negotiating team says they will focus on a lasting ceasefire in the second of peace parleys with the Taliban, according to Pajhwok Afghan News.
The Intra-Afghan negotiations, which began in September this year, will resume on January 5 in Doha after a three-week break.
Massoum Stanikzai, Kabul’s chief peace negotiator, tempered public expectations quick results. He said time would be needed to achieve progress.
“We will return to Qatar to resume negotiations with a strong will,” Stanikzai told a gathering at the Institute for Peace Studies in Kabul on December 30.
An end to the conflict in Afghanistan has been a longstanding demand of the people, according to Stanikzai, who called security, including a ceasefire, important for the masses.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with DPA International on December 29 that peace process is fragile and there is no guarantee of success in Afghanistan but “the ongoing talks in Doha between the Afghan government and Taliban is the only path to peace, and NATO strongly supports those efforts.”
According to him, NATO will be meeting Biden’s team in February to decide where to stay in the country or withdraw all troops.
