Turkey says Afghan harmony talks in Istanbul delayed to after Ramadan

ISTANBUL: Turkey announced on Tuesday that an international peace conference on Afghanistan would be held in Istanbul from April 24 after Ramadan.

"We have decided to postpone the talks until the end of the holy month of Ramadan in mid-May," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Haber Truck Television in an interview.

The delay comes after US President Joe Biden's administration announced the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan last week, before the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Turkey had earlier announced that a joint conference with the cooperation of the United Nations and Qatar would be held from April 24 to May 4.

But Kyusuglu said: "We thought that after consultation with Doha, the United Nations and Washington, it would be useful to postpone."

"No need to hurry."

Ankara said the talks would be between representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban.

When contacted last week, the Taliban said the group had not yet completed internal consultations about attending the conference.

Kyusoglu said the adjournment would give both sides time to compile a list of their names, citing a "lack of clarity" about who would attend the conference.

When asked if the Taliban would join the talks, he said: "Of course. Will this conference be understood without the presence of the Taliban?"

The United States is seeking to hasten the long-stalled peace talks before the planned end of military involvement in Afghanistan, which began in response to the 2001 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.

Biden has promised to withdraw the last part of the US troops from Afghanistan, which is currently a force of about 2,2,500 personnel within six months.

A grim US State Department report says Washington will form a Taliban-led interim government in place of President Ashraf Ghani's current leadership at a conference in Turkey.

Before announcing the adjournment, State Department spokesman Ned Price said, "There is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, and only through a political agreement and a comprehensive ceasefire can we support such a resolution providing security and stability." Will be able to ". And prosperity for the people of Afghanistan. "

He said the Istanbul Conference was "part of this great commitment, this great commitment" towards political settlement.