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Afghan sides’ decision to continue talks inspires hope — Russian diplomat

After talks in Doha, head of the government delegation Abdullah Abdullah, who is also Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, vowed that the Afghan government was committed to peaceful settlement of the conflict

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. The agreement on further talks between Kabul and the Taliban radical movement (outlawed in Russia) that was reached during the latest two-day meeting between the Afghan sides in Doha inspires hope, Russian president’s special envoy for Afghanistan and director of the Russian foreign ministry’s second Asia department Zamir Kabulov told TASS on Monday.

"No results are seen so far. I have seen a draft statement, where they say they have agreed to continue talks. So far, it is needless to comment as it doesn’t mean that talks have started," he said.

"But it inspires hope that the sides have agreed, at least rhetorically, to continue to speak with each other," he added.

After talks in Doha, delegations of the Afghan government and the Taliban adopted a brief statement on their plans to continue high-level peace talks. Head of the government delegation Abdullah Abdullah, who is also Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, vowed that the Afghan government was committed to peaceful settlement of the conflict. Afghan observers note, however, that the final statement say nothing either about reduction of combat intensity or about a truce.