KABUL (TCA) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country will host the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of efforts to end the Afghan Taliban’s 17-year insurgency, RFE/RL reported.
Erdogan, speaking at a joint news conference with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 4, said the trilateral meeting would take place in Istanbul after local elections in March.
Khan told reporters he hoped the meeting would bring “badly needed peace” to Afghanistan.
“Pakistan is already helping dialogue between Taliban and [the] Americans,” said Khan, who was making his first visit to Turkey since he came to power in August. “I look forward to the summit meeting in Istanbul, where we hope that Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey will be able to help in this peace process.”
The announcement of a trilateral meeting comes amid U.S. attempts to encourage negotiations between the Taliban and the Kabul government.
U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has held at least three rounds of talks with Taliban officials in recent months in the Middle East, although the militants have refused to talk directly to the Afghan government.
In other news, U.S. President Donald Trump is in the “process of evaluating” whether to withdraw some troops from Afghanistan, RFE/RL reported with reference to Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence’s remarks came amid reports that Trump had ordered the Pentagon to prepare for the withdrawal of 7,000 American troops deployed in Afghanistan, about half of the U.S. contingent in the country.
“Well, the president is in the process of evaluating that, as we speak,” Pence told Fox News during an interview broadcast on January 3.
His remarks came a day after Trump urged other countries, specifically Russia, Pakistan, and India, to become more involved in the fighting in Afghanistan as he argued against continued long-term presence of U.S. troops in the war-torn country.
Many observers have warned that the partial withdrawal could further degrade security and jeopardize possible peace talks with the Taliban aimed at ending its 17-year insurgency.
