Envoys and special representatives of the EU, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States have emphasised in a statement on Friday 7 May “the need to accelerate the pace of the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace negotiations”, calling for the “immediate resumption, without preconditions” of substantive negotiations.
“The process of the troop withdrawal must not serve as an excuse for the Taliban to suspend the peace process and that good-faith political negotiations must proceed in earnest”, they warned.
They also condemned the continuing violence in Afghanistan, “for which the Taliban are largely responsible”, calling on all parties to take immediate steps and reduce the violence in order to create an environment that is conducive to a political settlement.
The envoys and special representatives pledged to work with stakeholders to reach a “comprehensive and sustainable” peace agreement and political compromise “that ends the war for the benefit of all Afghans and that contributes to regional stability and global security”.
“Substantial international development assistance will be needed for Afghanistan’s stability during peace negotiations”, Western participants also said.
See the press release: https://bit.ly/33pQXQ0 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)