US hails maiden moot of Afghan peace council

KABUL, Afghanistan

The US has welcomed the formation and the first Leadership Committee meeting of the Afghanistan High Council for National Reconciliation.

The peace body set up in late May has 45 members from across the Afghan political spectrum and is chaired by Abdullah Abdullah. It held its maiden meeting at the presidency in Kabul on Saturday.

The moot was attended by political leaders including President Ashraf Ghani, party leaders, senior parliamentarians, and representatives of the civil society.

Earlier this week, Kabul and the Taliban broke the stalemate and agreed on a mechanism for intra-Afghan dialogue, more than two months after the negotiations began in Doha, Qatar on Sept. 12 to end 19 years of war.

"All sides of the conflict should come together and chart a path to peace," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

"As an authoritative body on peace, the High Council and its Leadership Committee will provide counsel and guidance to the Islamic Republic negotiating team with the Taliban on the terms of an agreement on a political roadmap, power-sharing, and a permanent ceasefire to end the country’s long war."

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative for Afghan reconciliation, also welcomed the development, saying it was "good to see" the council becoming operational.

Having completed the rules and procedures, he said, Kabul and the Taliban are now in the "next phase of negotiations."

“The Afghan people have been yearning for peace. The steps taken in recent days are positive and hopeful. I urge both sides to accelerate their peace efforts to end the country’s long war," he tweeted.

Khalilzad visited the Turkish capital Ankara Dec 3-4, met senior officials including Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, and discussed US-Turkey cooperation on efforts to advance Afghanistan peace negotiations.

The intra-Afghan talks follow an accord signed between Washington and the Taliban this February, which lays out a plan for a complete withdrawal of foreign troops from the war-torn country.

*With additional input from News Desk in Ankara