Atmar outlines talks situation, says team focusing on three issues

Speaking to journalists in Doha, Qatar, Haneef Atmar, Afghanistan’s acting Minister of Foreign Affairs outlined the current situation around the ongoing peace talks and said the republic’s team was focusing on three issues at this stage.

The first was on a dispute over the framework of the talks, which he said, needs to be cleared up as soon as possible.

Secondly, a reduction in violence is demanded by all Afghans and this should happen immediately, he said.

The third focal point was that negotiations should lead to a political agreement as soon as possible, he added.

In addition, Atmar stated that bloodshed needs to end and all issues resulting in the continuation of the war need to be resolved.

“We emphasize [the need for] an urgent agreement on reducing violence and establishing a mechanism to monitor this process,” he said.

Atmar is currently in Doha with President Ashraf Ghani who is on an official visit to the Gulf nation.

Members of the Afghan republic’s talks team have said that Ghani’s visit is not directly like to the talks. However, Ghani has met with the republic’s team and with US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad over the past two days.

Earlier, reports surfaced that there had been a breakthrough in stalled talks and that the two sides had put aside their differences.

However, the Afghan negotiating team reject the claims and said there was no truth in the report.