The United States and the Taliban have reportedly agreed that Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran and some other countries could witnesses the signing of the historic peace agreement between the two sides.
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“Talks [between the US and the Taliban] are underway in Doha. I saw some reports that the parties took a break for consultations with their leadership, the Taliban with their leadership and [US Special Representative for Afghanistan] Zalmay Khalilzad – with the American,” a diplomat noted.
According to Kabulov (Russian Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan and Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department) – the Taliban initially emphasized that “Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran and some other key states should act as the guarantors of the peace agreement between the US and Taliban.”
“However, later on, during the discussion with the US authorities, both sides (US and Taliban) agreed that all those countries would act as witnesses.
We (Russia) are ready to take part in any capacity, the fact itself is important for us,” Kabulov emphasised. “It is important for us to ensure that this agreement is signed as soon as possible so that further progress can be made.” “That is why we are interested in the success of the US-Taliban negotiations, which makes the way for intra-Afghan talks, ” he added.
Earlier, Washington had warned Pakistan that its deteriorating relations with Afghanistan will not be helpful for the peace process in the region. Senior officials at the foreign ministry stated that the US was really disturbed over the ‘cold war’ brewing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, damaging the peace talks with the Taliban.