Top Afghan peace negotiator departs for Turkey

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Top Afghan peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday left for Ankara to garner Turkey's support for negotiations with the Taliban and discuss bilateral ties.

Before departing from Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, Abdullah said in a series of tweets that he will meet and exchange views with excellences President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, religious leadership and other dignitaries on the peace process, intra-Afghan talks in Doha, regional and international support for peace, and bilateral issues.

Abdullah is flanked by a high-level official delegation, his office, the High Council for National Reconciliation, said in connection with his shuttle diplomacy tour of the regional countries.

Since the launch of intra-Afghan talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban in the Qatari capital Doha, Abdullah has visited Pakistan, India, Iran and Uzbekistan to lobby for peace in the war-ridden country.

On Wednesday, all 5 countries of Central Asia together with the European Union called for an immediate cease-fire in Afghanistan.

The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the first deputy foreign minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as the European Union’s (EU) high representative for foreign affairs and security policy/vice-president of the European Commission and European commissioner for international partnerships said in a joint statement that complete and immediate ceasefire was needed to advance in the comprehensive intra-Afghan reconciliation process, and that a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan free of terrorism is necessary for the development of the entire region.