Context: Russia hosted a peace conference for Afghanistan, bringing together government representatives and their Taliban adversaries along with international observers in a bid to help jump-start the country’s stalled peace process.

Details:

• The one-day gathering is the first of three planned international conferences ahead of a May 1 deadline for the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the country, a date fixed under a year-old agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban.
• Moscow’s attempt at mediation comes as talks in Doha between the Afghan government and the Taliban, still waging an insurgency, have stalled.
  • Washington and Kabul have been pressing for a ceasefire while the Taliban say they will negotiate it as part of peace talks with the Afghan government.
• The Moscow conference is attended by U.S. peace envoy, head of Afghanistan’s National Reconciliation Council, and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Representatives of Pakistan, Iran, and China are also participating.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/russia-hosts-afghan-peace-meet/article34104048.ece

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