Warring parties in Afghanistan agree to UN-sponsored talks to end conflict
3 November -- The two warring parties in Afghanistan have agreed in writing to a process of dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations aimed at ending the country's long-running conflict "in the shortest possible time," the top UN official in charge of the negotiations reported today.
The Secretary-General's Personal Representative for Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, today briefed the Security Council and the "Six-Plus-Two" group of States, comprised of Afghanistan's six neighbours and the United States and the Russian Federation, on the breakthrough.
Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters, Mr. Vendrell underscored the significance of the agreement, calling particular attention to its stipulation that the two sides "undertake to participate in the dialogue with serious intent and in good faith, and not to abandon the process unilaterally, but rather to pursue it without interruption, until the negotiating agenda - to be agreed by the two sides - is exhausted."
The agreement, transmitted yesterday in separate letters to Mr. Vendrell from the United Front and the Taliban, provides for either direct or indirect talks with the active participation of the Secretary-General or his Personal Representative.
Mr. Vendrell said he would shuttle between the two sides or meet them separately in the same location until they were ready to meet face to face. He added that he would use the time leading up to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to push the two sides to agree on a substantive agenda.
A ceasefire would be a "major element" of that agenda, Mr. Vendrell said, but he pointed out that if the parties agreed to a ceasefire which was then broken, it could spurn mutual accusations and further mistrust. "I don't want to minimize the importance of a ceasefire, but I don't think we should rush to a ceasefire if the parties are not yet ready," he said.
Other key elements which should be discussed, Mr. Vendrell said, were the need to legitimize any party that would rule Afghanistan; the need for a Government that would rule in accordance with the will of the Afghan people; Afghanistan's relations with its neighbours; human rights; and the treatment of women.
The Personal Representative cautioned against hopes for a quick outcome. "I think if this process is going to achieve results, it is going to be long," he said.
In a statement issued after a high-level meeting today, the "Six plus Two" group welcomed the agreement of the two Afghan parties "to enter into a process of dialogue ... aimed at achieving a political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan." It also urged the two warring parties to "cooperate closely with the Personal Representative of the Secretary-General in moving the process forward in its shortest possible time."
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