Khalilzad in Kabul as Govt Prepares for Turkey Conference

US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on Saturday and held a meeting with Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, and the leadership committee of the council, to discuss the peace process, the reconciliation council said.

Khalilzad also met with President Ashraf Ghani and according to the Presidential Palace statement, they discussed the peace process and the upcoming Turkey conference.

Khalilzad’s trip comes as the reconciliation council has wrapped up the review of at least 25 peace proposals, including the plan proposed by President Ghani, by a 15-member committee of political leaders and high-ranking officials.

Various proposals and views will be presented as a unified plan at the upcoming Turkey conference on Afghanistan, according to the reconciliation council.

According to the statement, the committee is scheduled to hold its last meeting on Saturday to review the views offered.

The date for the conference has not been made public so far, but sources told TOLOnews last week that Khalilzad has shared the details of the event with negotiators of the Afghan republic and the Taliban.

Ned Price, a spokesperson for the US Department of State, said at a press briefing on Thursday said that the Turkey conference will complement the ongoing peace talks between the negotiating teams representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban and that the United States will be aimed at accelerating the Afghan peace efforts.

Price said that US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad remains in Doha and that he continues to engage with the parties on this very task, helping the parties, supporting the parties in this Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process to reach a political settlement and comprehensive ceasefire.