EU endorses Afghan role in peace talks with Taliban

Kabul  :  The European Union's top diplomat on Tuesday said the bloc was ready to stand a guarantor of peace efforts to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan, and added the process should be led by the Afghan government.

Federica Mogherini, EU's foreign affairs and security policy chief, said at a joint press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani she appreciated the efforts of the international community, including the US, to resolve the protracted conflict.

Mogherini, whose trip to Kabul was unannounced, expressed Europe's full support for an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process, emphasising the Afghans must have the right to decide their future. She also insisted that women representatives should be made part of the process to ensure the success.

"Afghans have to stay owners of the (peace) process," she said after meeting Ghani during her first visit to Afghanistan since taking over as the EU's high representative.

Mogherini said the EU was ready to serve, if required, as a guarantor of the peace process for a possible deal with the Taliban that controls large swathes of the country.

The remarks came after US officials and Taliban representatives held several rounds of talks in recent months in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar amid opposition from Ghani's government, which insists on a central role in the peace talks.

The Taliban have refused to hold direct talks with the Afghan government.

At the end of the latest meeting in Qatar on March 12, the Taliban said there had been progress on issues, like the withdrawal of foreign troops, although a concrete draft was yet to be prepared.

As the Taliban refuse to engage with Kabul, the government has announced it will intensify the offensive against them.

The government controls just 55 per cent of the country, while the Taliban rule over approximately 11 per cent. The remaining territory is contested between the parties, according to data published by the US Congress' Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

Mogherini said the EU had no agenda other than peace, security and prosperity for Afghanistan and would continue to help the government make the peace process more inclusive and bring in reforms, including in the security sector.

The diplomat said the EU was committed to "maintaining and strengthening the political, economic and social achievements of the last 18 years, including the rights of women, children and minorities."

The first step for ensuring the success of peace talks should be a ceasefire between the warring groups, she added.

Appreciating the EU's support, Ghani said efforts should be made towards obtaining a lasting peace. "Stability that comes through violence, threat and force is not stability but indeed a new chapter of violence," he said.