Turkey said on Tuesday it will host an international peace conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4, Agence France-Presse reported.
The meeting will come as the new US administration of President Joe Biden assesses its ability to meet his predecessor Donald Trump’s commitment to withdraw all troops from the war-torn country by May 1.
Washington is trying to add urgency to long-stalled peace talks that could finally see it end a military involvement that began in response to the 2001 terror attacks on Washington and New York.
“The overriding objective of the Istanbul Conference on the Afghanistan Peace Process is to accelerate and complement the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha on the achievement of a just and durable political settlement,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
The İstanbul meeting is being co-sponsored by the United Nations and Qatar.
The Turkish foreign ministry said the talks would be between representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban.
“The conference will focus on helping the negotiating parties reach a set of shared, foundational principles that reflect an agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap to a future political settlement and an end to the conflict,” it said.