Recognising the importance of ensuring a positive atmosphere for the impending intra-Afghan negotiations, the United States, Russia and Afghanistan on Monday called for a significant reduction in violence as a confidence building measure.
It came as Afghan Acting Foreign Minister, Haneef Atmar, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, and Russian special envoy on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, met via video teleconference.
They agreed that the Afghan government’s proposal concerning the establishment of a monitoring mechanism for compliance with Reduction in Violence (RiV) measures and to ensure mutual accountability overall through the peace process is a positive contribution.
The parties welcomed the readiness of both sides to the intra-Afghan negotiations for an early start of the negotiations and expect that an initial meeting between the negotiating teams must be held immediately to agree on agenda and next steps.
The parties expect that achieving a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire will be included in the agenda of the intra-Afghan negotiations at the outset.
The parties agreed to meet again in this trilateral format to discuss the progress made in the intra-Afghan negotiation process. Schedule and details of the next meeting are to be determined through diplomatic channels.
