Hamdullah Mohib, the National Security Adviser (NSA) says the Afghan government will attend the Moscow and Istanbul peace summits.
Speaking at a press conference in Kabul on Saturday, Mr. Mohib said that the Foreign Ministry and the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) are currently working to increase the level of participation of other countries and the Taliban in the upcoming meetings in Moscow and Istanbul.
“We send our delegation to Russia and Turkey based on the level of cooperation between the countries and the Taliban,” he said. “If the level of participation would at the level of the delegation, the government’s negotiating delegation will participate, and if the level changes, we will participate in these meetings at the same level.”
According to Mr. Moheb, the decision of the Afghan government to participate in the next two meetings has been finalized.
On March 18, Moscow is scheduled to host a meeting to accelerate the Afghan peace process. Senior Afghan government officials, representatives of the Taliban and some countries have been invited to attend.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşo also said that Istanbul is preparing to host the Afghanistan peace talks in April.
However, in another part of his speech, Hamdullah Mohib referred to Russia’s position on the integration of the Taliban on the interim government of Afghanistan and said: “The interim government does not cure any pain. We want peace, but some parties escapes peace are raising other issues, including the interim government.”
Mr. Mohib stressed that at present the Taliban are not ready for real peace in Afghanistan.
