The United States, Russia, China, and Pakistan have jointly called on Afghanistan's warring sides to reach an immediate cease-fire and specifically urged the Taliban not to pursue a spring offensive. "At this turning point, our four countries call on the sides to hold talks and reach a peace agreement that will end more than four decades of war in Afghanistan," said a joint statement issued after the talks Thursday.

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The United States, Russia, China, and Pakistan have jointly called on Afghanistan's warring sides to reach an immediate cease-fire and specifically urged the Taliban not to pursue a spring offensive.

"At this turning point, our four countries call on the sides to hold talks and reach a peace agreement that will end more than four decades of war in Afghanistan," said a joint statement issued after the conclusion of one-day talks in Moscow Thursday.

The statement also said the four countries were committed to mobilizing political and economic support for Afghanistan once a peace settlement had been reached.

The Moscow conference on Afghanistan was attended by Russia, China, the United States, and Pakistan as well as representatives of the Government of Afghanistan, Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, prominent Afghan political figures, and representatives of the Taliban movement, as well as Qatar and Turkey as guests of honor.

The one-day gathering was the first of three planned international conferences ahead of a May 1 deadline for the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the country, a date fixed under a year-old agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban, according to the Associated Press.

This is the first time Washington has sent a senior official to participate in Afghan peace negotiations convened by Russia. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad's presence was seen as a sign of Washington's increasing effort to attract support among regional powers -- including China and Russia -- for its plans for Afghanistan.

The Moscow gathering will be followed by a meeting of regional players in Turkey next month.

Joint statement

In a statement issued after the talks, Russia, the U.S., China and Pakistan called on the warring parties to reduce the level of violence in the country and specifically urged the Taliban not to pursue a spring offensive.

"We urge participants in the intra-Afghan negotiations to engage immediately in discussions on fundamental issues to resolve the conflict, including the foundations of the future peaceful and stable Afghan state, the content of a political roadmap leading to an inclusive government, and the modalities of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire."

Any peace agreement, they said, should "include protections for the rights of all Afghans, including women, men, children, victims of war, and minorities, and should respond to the strong desire of all Afghans for economic, social and political development including the rule of law."

The joint statement emphasized the four countries do not support the restoration of an Islamic emirate in Afghanistan like during the Taliban rule. "As stated in the UNSC resolution 2513 (2020), we do not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate and we call on the Government of the Islamic Republic and the High Council for National Reconciliation to engage openly with their Taliban counterparts regarding a negotiated settlement."

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established when the Taliban began their governance of Afghanistan in 1996 until the U.S. invasion in 2001.

Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for Afghanistan, told reporters that the Afghan participants in the talks showed willingness to negotiate peace and they will have more meetings in Moscow.

Sergey Lavrov

"We hope that today's talks will help achieve progress in the inter-Afghan talks," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the start of the meeting.

Lavrov urged the Afghan government and the Taliban to take a constructive stance and make compromises, adding that international participants should help create the necessary conditions for reaching a deal.

"The Afghan parties interested in the national reconciliation can reach peace only through negotiations and compromises," Lavrov said. "It's important to sign an agreement that would serve the interests of all key ethnic and political forces of the country and determine the vector of its development."

He emphasized that it was important to quickly reach a peace deal "amid the deteriorating military-political situation" before the summer, when an upsurge in fighting is likely.

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks masterminded by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden who was sheltered by the Taliban. The invasion toppled the Taliban regime but the 20-year-war has made Afghanistan America's longest conflict, the Associated Press said adding:

"Despite the U.S. spending nearly $1 trillion, al-Qaida is still present in Afghanistan, and an affiliate of the Islamic State group has taken root in the east of the country. Many Afghans fear the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops could lead to an upsurge in fighting between the country's rival factions.

"The Taliban, who during their rule imposed a harsh brand of Islam on Afghanistan, now control about half of the country. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that the insurgents could make even more gains, without U.S. and NATO troops on the ground."

Taliban threatens with 'reaction' if US does not pull out troops by May deadline

The Taliban warned the Biden administration to honor a Trump-era agreement and pull US and NATO troops out of Afghanistan by May 1, warning a "retaliation" if the deal is violated.

"They should go," Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiation team, told reporters in Moscow on Friday. Troop presence beyond May 1, Shaheen warned, will qualify as a "violation of the agreement" struck with the Trump administration and will warrant a "reaction."

"We hope that this will not happen, that they withdraw and we focus on the settlement, peaceful settlement of the Afghan issue, in order to bring about a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire at the end of reaching a political roadmap (for) Afghanistan," he said.

A broad troop withdrawal from Afghanistan has come into question since Joe Biden has taken office.

The fact is that that was not a very solidly negotiated deal that the president, the former president worked out," Biden said on Wednesday. "And so we're in consultation with our allies, as well as the government."

The deal struck with the Trump administration was contingent upon the Taliban entering peace negotiations with the Afghanistan government and preventing terrorist attacks being planned in the region against the US and its allies.

(Article changed on Mar 19, 2021 at 11:08 PM EDT)

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Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality;
Islam in the Post-Cold War Era;
Islam & Modernism;
Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America.
American Muslims in Politics.
Islam in the 21st Century: Challanges, conspiracies & Chaos
Muslim Word in the New Global Order
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