In Doha Talks, think about Months. Not years: Khalilzad
US envoy on Afghan peace process Zalmay Khalilzad said the process of intra-Afghan talks in Doha should not take years as the international community will be bored, and the Afghan Government and the Taliban should reach an agreement in coming months.
Speaking in an interview, Zalmay Khalilzad says he supports intra-Afghan talks, but the international community is not very patient and the government and the Taliban should reach an agreement as soon as possible.
Mr Khalilzad stressed that the US is in hurry and the sooner the talks will be concluded the better.
“We are in a hurry and the people of Afghanistan want a ceasefire soon, and we are in favor of the will of Afghan people. The sooner it would be concluded the better. A timetable should be considered and this process should not take years. There should be patience, but a positive result must be achieved that would be acceptable to all,” he said.
The US envoy hoped that President Ghani’s visit to Doha would have a positive impact on the peace process.
Khalilzad underlined that he did not think there would be a change in Washington’s exit policy and political solution to the Afghan peace process after the US election, adding that he thought it was the best way to end the war.
He described the presence of US troops in Afghanistan as condition-based, saying that after November, if conditions demanded, US troops would remain in Afghanistan.
