Afghan rivals to meet in China after US talks stall – World

China is organizing talks between rival factions in Afghanistan as part of efforts to end years of war after negotiations between the Taliban and the United States on the withdrawal of US forces broke up.

China, which shares a short border with Afghanistan, has been trying to encourage peace efforts and last month a Taliban delegation visited Beijing to talk with government officials.

"China has invited a delegation […] to participate in the intra-Afghan dialogue, "said a Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, in a Send on Twitter late Tuesday.

The so-called intra-Afghan dialogue is aimed at reconciliation between the belligerent parts of Afghanistan and has developed in parallel with the talks between the insurgents and the United States.

Last month, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, suspended talks with the Taliban in order to reach an agreement for US and foreign troops to withdraw in exchange for Taliban security guarantees, after militants They carried out a bomb attack in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier

The United States has been waiting for its agreement with the Taliban to pave the way for a ceasefire and talks to share power between the Afghan government and the insurgents.

The Taliban have refused to talk to the government, denouncing him as an American puppet, but government officials have participated in the intra-Afghan dialogue as private citizens.

Shaheen said the talks in China will take place on that basis.

"All participants will attend the meeting in a personal capacity and share their personal opinions to solve the Afghan problem," he said.

He did not give a date for the talks and officials from the Chinese embassy in Kabul were not available for comment.

The Afghan government was aware of China's plan to organize talks, but could not comment at this stage, said Vice Chancellor Idress Zaman.

A spokesman for former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, who attended intra-Afghan talks in Russia in February, said Karzai's office was aware of China's conversation plan and that Karzai would attend if invited.

A 60-member Afghan delegation, including government officials and representatives of civil society groups, held a second round of intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban in July in Qatar.