A team representing the Afghan government left for Doha ahead of the long-awaited peace talks with the insurgent Taliban, which began Saturday, Afghan officials said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed
the "historic" talks on his way to Doha for the opening ceremony.
The Trump administration is trying to
persuade the Taliban and the Afghan government to negotiate, which will
eventually lead the United States to give up its longest-running war and give
President Donald Trump a major foreign policy victory before the US
presidential election.
Senior negotiator Nader Nadery, said,
"Today we left for Doha with hope and confidence to create a situation in
Afghanistan where the gun is silent and the values of (the republic) are
strengthened and the Afghan people get what they deserve. Get it. “The team
that left for Kabul on a commercial plane.
Pompeo is due to arrive in Doha on Friday
before the opening ceremony on Saturday, after which real talks between Afghan
government representatives and the Taliban are expected to begin, under a
February agreement between the militant group Americans.
"It took me a long time to get him
here on February 29, but we expect from Saturday morning that ... the Afghans
at the table are ready to work together to move their country forward," he
said. There will be controversial discussions about this, "Pompeo told
reporters shortly after leaving Washington on Thursday evening.”(It) is really
historic."
The Taliban have so far refused to talk
directly to the government, whose group says it is powerless.
Pompeo's arrival in Doha on Friday
coincides with the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States,
which sparked the US military intervention in Afghanistan against the Taliban,
who killed Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the attacks Was sheltered.
A diplomatic source in Kabul said the
start of the talks was arranged’ to ensure it did not fall on the anniversary.
On Thursday, a jet carried six prisoners
from Kabul at the request of the Taliban. Some Western governments have
objected to his release, and it has been agreed’ that he will be held under
surveillance in Qatar.
France and Australia said overnight that
they objected to the release of prisoners from Afghan jails.
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