China, Russia, U.S., Pakistan hold talks on Afghan peace process

MOSCOW, Oct 26 -- Representatives of China, Russia, the United States and Pakistan on Friday reaffirmed respect for Afghanistan's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and discussed ways to assist the Afghan people in achieving lasting peace, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The parties believe that it is a universal and sincere demand of the Afghan people to end the Afghan war and achieve sustainable peace, according to a joint statement issued after the second quadrilateral consultation on the Afghan issue in Moscow.

They reviewed the current situation in Afghanistan, including joint efforts to effectively solve the Afghan issue via political and diplomatic means, and reiterated that sustainable peace can only be achieved through political negotiations.

China, Russia and Pakistan support the resumption of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban and hoped them to reach an agreement as soon as possible so as to pave the way for internal negotiations among the parties in Afghanistan, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the quartet pledged to help the Afghan government and all parties concerned reach a comprehensive and sustainable peace agreement with the Taliban, so as to end the war, safeguard the interests of all Afghan people, as well as contribute to regional stability and global security.

According to the statement, the four countries urged all conflicting parties to immediately reduce violence for the sake of creating a good atmosphere for negotiations.

They looked forward to a ceasefire during the internal negotiations of the Afghans, so that all parties can reach an agreement on the country's future political roadmap.

They also called on the Afghan government and the Taliban to exchange a considerable number of prisoners at the beginning of the internal negotiations.

The quartet emphasized that any peace agreement should include the protection of the rights of women, adults, children and ethnic minorities, and should respond to the strong aspirations of the Afghan people in economic, social, political, development and legislative spheres, the statement said.

They called upon all Afghan people to ensure that their country is not used by international terrorist forces to endanger the security of any other country.

Stressing the importance of combating illegal drug production and smuggling, the four countries urged all parties to completely eliminate drug threats in Afghanistan.

China is willing to host an intra-Afghan dialogue in Beijing and invite political figures from various parties, including the Afghan government representatives, the opposition leaders and the Taliban, the statement said.

The invitation of other parties concerned to participate in this consultation format in the future must be based on the consensus reached by China, Russia and the United States in Moscow on April 25, 2019, it said.  

-- BERNAMA