US Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad wrote on Twitter regarding the peace process that “The path to peace doesn’t often run in a straight line. The situation in Afghanistan is complex and like all sensitive talks, not everything is conducted in public. Let me take a moment to explain where we are..”
He continued “We made significant progress on two vital issues: counter terrorism and troop withdrawal. That doesn’t mean we’re done. We’re not even finished with these issues yet, and there is still work to be done on other vital issues like intra-Afghan dialogue and a complete ceasefire.”
“Skeptics have rushed to judgment based on just the first part of a much larger effort, as though we have a completed agreement. But you can’t eat an elephant in one bite! And a forty year old war won’t be resolved in one meeting, even if that meeting runs for close to a week”, he added.
He finally conceded that “This is a moment for Afghans to begin to heal old wounds and chart a new course for their country. There are many players, many issues, and many moving parts. But we are on the right path, together. As President of the United States said, talks are proceeding well.”
This comes after Afghan President Ghani expressed that peace cannot be achieved by a select group “behind closed doors” and indirectly criticised the talks between US and Taliban by saying that international initiatives on peace like this do not succeed mostly.
