Afghanistan- Russia and US Call for Significant Reduction in Violence

The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan Mohammad Haneef Atmar convened a trilateral meeting of Afghanistan, Russia and the United States via video tele-conference on Monday.

The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan Mohammad Haneef Atmar convened a trilateral meeting of Afghanistan, Russia and the United States via video tele-conference on Monday.
“Ambassador Zamir Kabulov, the Special Presidential Envoy of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan and Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the Special Representative of the United States for Afghanistan Reconciliation, led their respective delegations at the meeting,” Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The three countries, reiterating their strong commitment to an Afghan-owned peace process and support for safeguarding Afghanistan’s achievements over the past 19 years.
According to the statement, the Russian and the US Governments welcome the Afghan Government’s commitment and progress towards releasing of the Taliban prisoners as a necessary step towards early start of the intra-Afghan negotiations.

The parties call on the Taliban to reciprocate the Afghan Government’s move by releasing all Afghan Government prisoners held by them consistent with their commitment in the Doha Agreement.
“Recognising the importance of ensuring a positive atmosphere for the impending negotiations, the parties call for a significant reduction in violence as a confidence building measure,” the statement read.

Russia, US and Afghanistan also expect that an initial meeting between the negotiating teams must be held immediately to agree on agenda and next steps.
“The parties agree on the importance of regional and international cooperation as key to sustaining the intra-Afghan negotiations and ultimately to the success of the peace process,” the statement added.