Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Haneef Atmar on Sunday met with US Charge d’Affaires Ross Wilson to discuss the peace process.
In a statement issued Monday, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: The two sides discussed the start of peace talks, expressing satisfaction with the progress so far, and optimism for attaining a sustainable peace.
They also discussed priorities the Afghan government needs to address, namely calling on the Taliban movement to agree to a comprehensive ceasefire and the development of a mechanism for monitoring violence reduction.
The two sides also discussed opportunities for expanding trilateral relations between Afghanistan, the United States and Central Asian countries as part of regional mobilization for the Afghan peace process.
Their talks around a reduction in violence comes amid a sharp rise in attacks around the country in the past few days.
On Monday morning, US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad also called for an urgent reduction in violence - which has systematically increased since the signing of the Doha agreement between the US and the Taliban in February.
