'Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency that the sides did not discuss any specific issues when they met on March 19.
But he said the Afghan government team expressed “readiness to accelerate the [peace] process" and that the Taliban “did as well."
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The Moscow meeting was the first of three planned international conferences ahead of a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan.
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The Moscow conference was seen as a curtain-raiser for a larger meeting of regional players in Turkey in April, as well as a summit that U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has asked the United Nations to organize.
The meeting included representatives of the Taliban, the Afghan government, and the country’s negotiation team, as well as officials from Russia, China, Pakistan, and the United States.”
It marked the first time Washington has sent a senior official to participate in Afghan peace negotiations convened by Russia.
Khalilzad's presence was seen as a sign of Washington's increasing effort to attract support among regional powers for its plans for Afghanistan.'
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In Moscow, Afghan Government, Taliban Agree To Accelerate Peace Talks, March 19, 2021
ContextU.S., Russia, China, And Pakistan Urge Afghan Cease-Fire