Moscow to host new round of Troika talks on Afghan peace

Members of the extended ‘Troika’ on the Peaceful Settlement in Afghanistan – Russia, US, China and Pakistan – will meet on Friday to hammer out a single position on advancing the Afghan peace talks, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said on Wednesday night.

Speaking to Russia’s TASS media outlet, Kabulov said: “I confirm that a meeting of the Extended ‘Troika’ will take place on April 30 and will be attended by myself, [US] Special Representative [for Afghanistan Zalmay] Khalilzad and representatives of Pakistan and China,” he said.

“We will be discussing solutions to the current situation in the intra-Afghan negotiations. We will be trying to work out a common position to give an impetus for the talks to take place.”

“Time will tell how that turns out,” Kabulov added.

Moscow hosted ‘Troika’ talks in March which was attended by representatives of the four countries as well as representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban, Afghan politicians, and officials from Qatar and Turkey.

After the one-day talks, the US, Russia, China, and Pakistan issued a joint statement that stressed that they “do not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate.”

“Any peace agreement must include protections for the rights of all Afghans, including women, men, children, victims of war, and minorities, and should respond to the strong desire of all Afghans for economic, social and political development including the rule of law,” the statement noted.

The group also called “on the Taliban not to pursue a Spring offensive,” a major fighting campaign by the Taliban each year.