Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, is in Doha to “press the Taliban to stop their military offense” and “formulate a coordinated international response” to the escalating violence in Afghanistan, according to the State Department.
“Ambassador Khalilzad will be in Doha to help formulate a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan,” the department added.
Khalilzad is presently in Qatar for the latest round of “extended Troika” discussions, which are aimed at reducing violence and establishing a truce. Several additional rounds of discussions were set over three days to address the situation in Afghanistan, according to a statement released by the department on Monday.
“He will press the Taliban to stop their military offensive and to negotiate a political settlement, which is the only path to stability and development in Afghanistan,” according to the statement.
“A negotiated peace is the only path to ending the war, and the United States will continue to work with all parties and with regional and international stakeholders to advance a consensus on a political settlement,” said the Washington office.
Diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, the UN, and the EU are expected to attend the summit in Qatar on Tuesday.
The Taliban said on Monday that it has taken control of Afghanistan’s sixth provincial capital in four days. Aybak, the capital of the northern province of Samangan, has been overrun, according to the armed group’s spokesperson.
