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Taliban and Afghan Government to Attend Peace Talks in Turkey

VOA News

   The Taliban and Afghanistan's government will join upcoming talks to
   begin the peace process in Afghanistan, Turkey's foreign ministry
   announced on Tuesday.
   The warring sides will join the United Nations and Qatar at a 10-day
   summit hosted by Turkey aimed at ending the 20-year conflict and laying
   the groundwork for a "just and durable" political settlement, the
   ministry said.
   The Turkish government also said the negotiations are meant to
   "accelerate and complement" intra-Afghan talks that are ongoing in
   Qatar's capital of Doha.
   The summit is part of a U.S.-supported effort to begin negotiations
   before a May 1 deadline for withdrawing U.S. and NATO troops from
   Afghanistan.
   The Taliban and the U.S. agreed to the May 1 withdrawal more than a
   year ago, but the Biden administration indicated Tuesday the U.S. would
   leave American troops in the country beyond the deadline, until
   September 11.
   Turkey's announcement that the Taliban would attend the talks came as a
   surprise, given that a Taliban spokesman said Monday the insurgent
   group would not attend the conference, potentially jeopardizing U.S.
   efforts to develop a peace plan.
   Amid concern that violence in Afghanistan would intensify if a deal is
   not reached soon, the U.S. envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has
   been visiting the region to garner support for a cease-fire and a peace
   agreement.
   Turkey's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, has spent the past week
   inviting counterparts in the U.S. and in some Gulf Arab countries to
   the talks and encouraging them to support efforts to achieve peace in
   Afghanistan.