Afghan President to Negotiate a Political Settlement with "Taliban"

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Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday expressed his government’s aim to revive the intra-Afghan talks with “Taliban”.

Addressing the Inaugural Ceremony of the Central and South Asia Connectivity Conference, Ghani said that the Kabul administration "will strive to do everything in its ability to negotiate with Taliban despite potential consequences.”

"We, therefore, call on Taliban to engage with the government of Afghanistan to end the war and the destructive recent onslaught,” he added.

Ghani also said that “plunging Afghanistan into an all-out war is to plunge the region into radical uncertainty”.

Furthermore, the Afghan president has also warned of a sharp increase in the migration of militants from Pakistan into his nation during the past few months.

“International observers failed to provide the essential support for our government, despite their assessment of the current situation in Afghanistan, “he added.

Besides, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, during his talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, that “Russia wanted to help kickstart peace talks between the warring sides in Afghanistan”.

Following the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, an armed confrontation erupted between the Taliban movement and the Afghan government. Meanwhile, the Taliban has been rapidly advancing across Afghanistan, particularly along the border with Pakistan.

Besides, the Taliban had proposed a three-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of about 7,000 insurgent prisoners being held in Afghanistan’s prisons.