Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammed Haneef Atmar stressed the importance of the role played by Saudi Arabia in advancing peace efforts in his country, and has requested from his Saudi counterpart that the Kingdom weighs in on achieving a ceasefire in Afghanistan.
The top diplomat had recently held comprehensive talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on expanding bilateral cooperation in the political, security, economic, and development sectors.
“We are very grateful for the special attention received from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and their eagerness to strengthen the relationship with our country,” Atmar said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
Reaffirming that the Afghan government has met all commitments it made to the Taliban, Atmar said it was the party’s turn to comply with its obligations and prove its good intentions.
“We have released over 6,000 detainees and met all the demands made by the Taliban,” he said.
“Now the Taliban must prove to the Afghan people and the international community that they are fulfilling the promises and obligations they signed,” he added.
The foreign minister explained that peace talks held in Doha were a good start for reaching reconciliation with the Taliban, but remain insufficient without international and regional participation.
“It is an important initiative that opens the doorway to negotiations,” he said about the Doha talks, asserting that a second round of them is coming up.
Atmar hoped for regional and international support to underpin Afghan negotiations, noting that holding the talks alone is not enough to overcome the difficulties lying in the path of achieving desired goals.
Invoking Taliban’s recent attempts to dodge blame for violence in Afghanistan, Atmar said that the best way for the group to demonstrate that it does not want violence is for it to agree to a ceasefire.
He also added that it would clear the Taliban from responsibility for recent aggression levels in Afghanistan.
“The Afghan government sees that a ceasefire agreement would serve as the best evidence on the Taliban not seeking violence and that they are not responsible for the current level of violence in the country,” said Atmar.
Expressing optimism about the new US administration, Atmar said that the joint security talks with Washington are vital to supporting international stability.
“The US and Afghanistan have common interests, especially in achieving security,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that Washington has “signed binding agreements in Afghanistan.”
Atmar emphasized that Afghanistan does not want to be involved in regional conflict, and highlighted the significance of the support the South Asian country receives from the Muslim World League.
