UN Received No Letter From US About Proposed Afghan Peace Conference In Turkey: UN Spokesman

Faizan Hashmi Published March 09, 2021 | 02:10 AM

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Mar, 2021 ) :The United Nations has not received any letter from the U.S. in which Secretary of State Antony Blinken has proposed a UN-led peace conference in Turkey aimed at forming an inclusive Afghan government with the Taliban, a UN spokesman said Monday.

"We have not officially received the letter. We've seen it because it was in the media, but we have -- as far as I've checked -- we have not received the letter officially," Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said while responding to a question about the proposed conference at the regular noon briefing in New York.

At the same time, the spokesman said that the UN stands ready to assist in promoting peace in Afghanistan if requested by the parties.

"We've been following the reporting closely. We're aware of what was reported in the media through this letter that was leaked over the weekend," he said.

"We continue to support any effort to reach a peaceful resolution to the conflict, and we stand ready to assist, if so requested by the parties." The existence of the letter was confirmed by a U.S. official in Washington and the Afghan government.

Negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban began in September as part of a February 2020 agreement between the militants and the United States. But the talks have faltered over issues like a prisoner exchange and reductions in violence Blinken reportedly wrote that the United States had not decided whether to withdraw the remaining 2,500 American troops from Afghanistan by May 1, as outlined in its agreement with the Taliban. He expressed concern that "the security situation will worsen and that the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains" following a U.S. withdrawal.

The State Department declined to comment on the letter but said in a statement that "all options remain on the table" regarding the withdrawal of American troops.

"We have not made any decisions about our force posture in Afghanistan after May 1," the statement said The United Nations-led conference in Turkey could complement a separate meeting that would include envoys from the United States, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran and India "to discuss a unified approach to support peace in Afghanistan," Blinken wrote.