Khalilzad: Negotiating team should be formed before Loya Jirga

Although Khalilzad did not comment on the Moscow peace meeting, he said, if the negotiating team is not formed, Moscow meeting will probably repeat.

According to Mr Khalilzad, the Taliban group is responsible for the war, but the Afghan government has a responsibility as well.
“It is better the national negotiating team should be formed before Loya Jirga. Taliban is the main responsible group for the war but the government has a series of responsibilities too,” said Khalilzad.
The United States special envoy said that the Afghan government and the political parties can work together to shape a good process for direct talks between the government and Taliban.

On the other hand, Khalilzad added that it is expected from Pakistan to take practical steps towards the Afghan peace process and stressed that Saudi Arabia has a huge impact on Pakistan and can push Islamabad to take serious steps in this regard.

Speaking about his meeting with president Ghani, he described it as a “formal private” meeting, adding that he does not want to say much about it.
On the part of US – Taliban talks, he said “or various political reasons, the next round of US-Taliban talks was decided to be held in Doha not in Pakistan”.