China, US, Russia meet on Afghanistan issue, agree on further talks

A trilateral two-day meeting on the Afghanistan issue ended on Friday, as representatives of China, the United States and Russia agreed to hold further talks regarding the issue.

Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan affairs Deng Xijun, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Russian Presidential Special Representative Zamir Kabulov attended the meeting starting Thursday, during which they discussed the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan and ways to promote peace, prosperity and security in the country.

An Afghan security guard walks during a Taliban attack in Ghazni city, Afghanistan on August 12, 2018. [File photo: VCG]

The three parties emphasized that they respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, as well as Afghanistan's right to make its own decisions on political, security and economic issues.

The three representatives also agreed to continue their consultations, and to decide via diplomatic channels the time and venue for their next meeting, in a bid to further promote the Afghan peace process, for which they will stay in contact.

Also on the same day, the U.S. State Department said in a separate statement that "the parties exchanged views on the current status of the Afghan peace process" and discussed "common efforts to bring peace, prosperity, and security to Afghanistan."

The State Department has said earlier on March 20 that Khalilzad will host Deng, Kabulov and EU Special Envoy Roland Kobia at the State Department in the meeting.

Khalilzad said on March 13 that the peace talks between the United States and the Afghan Taliban have made progress after tough negotiations in Qatar and that conditions for achieving a peaceful settlement have improved.

However, Afghanistan's National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib said later in Washington that "Ambassador Khalilzad ... doesn't know how to negotiate or in fact there may be other reasons behind what he is doing."

He has reportedly refused to apologize for his remarks after the U.S. State Department expressed dissatisfaction.

It also remains unclear if the Taliban would like to talk directly with the Afghan government.