Afghan Gov't Doubts Taliban Will Take Part In Re-scheduled Istanbul Conference- Negotiator

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2021) The Afghan government doubts that the Taliban movement will take part in the re-scheduled Istanbul conference on Afghanistan, Nader Nadery, a senior member of the government's peace negotiations team in Doha, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Istanbul was scheduled to host a conference with participation of the Afghan government and the Taliban from April 24-May 4.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Tuesday that the event would be postponed, as it makes no sense without the Taliban's participation. The movement has said that it is reluctant to participate in any conference until all foreign troops are withdrawn.

"Taking [into account] their lack of interest so far, I am not sure if they would," Nadery said, when asked whether the Afghan government expects that the Taliban will agree to take part in re-scheduled conference when Ramadan ends.