US Special Envoy Khalilzad Arrives In Qatar For Next Round Of Taliban Peace Talks

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2020) Zalmay Khalilzad, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation at the State Department, has arrived in Qatar for the latest set of bilateral peace talks with the Taliban, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday, with many leading Afghan officials hopeful that a binding agreement can be signed between the two sides.

The US special envoy to Afghanistan canceled previous peace talks in December after a Taliban attack on a US military base resulted in the deaths of two civilians and left more than 70 people injured.

Mawlawi Qalamuddin, head of the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, told reporters that talks could now progress and result in the signing of an agreement between all parties.

The Afghan government is also hoping for a positive result from the resumed bilateral negotiations, despite ongoing clashes between Afghan National Army and the Taliban. Earlier on Sunday, the Afghan National Army thwarted a car bomb attack on a military base in Kandahar province, according to a police spokesman's statement seen by a Sputnik correspondent.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Peace Affairs, Najia Anwari, said in a video clip shared with reporters that the government is hoping that the upcoming peace talks will lead to eventual conclusions that will have a significant impact in Afghanistan.

The spokeswoman added that any agreement opens the door for further international dialogue.

The Afghan government has consistently reiterated that a ceasefire and intra-Afghan talks are its primal objectives. The Taliban has long refused to negotiate directly with the Afghan government.

The US held a number of peace talks with the Taliban throughout 2019 in a bid to encourage the group to cut the ties with terrorists and begin rapprochement with the Afghan government, paving the way for US troops to pull out. No significant results have so far been achieved during these talks.

Afghanistan has struggled to contain the Taliban movement for almost two decades. The conflict-stricken country continues to serve as a breeding ground for various insurgent and militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terrorist organizations (both groups banned in Russia).