Novikova Olga Nikolaevna – Ph.D. in History, Head of the Department of Europe and America, INION RAN
The main goal of this paper is to explore the potential for achieving a negotiated settlement to the long and devastating conflict in Afghanistan. The article discusses the background of the efforts of taking forward peace talks. It exposes many hurdles to concluding the comprehensive peace agreement. The analysis demonstrates contradictory elements found in the positions of the stakeholders. The Taliban refuses to talk to the US-planted government in Kabul, because it believes that this would mean accepting the government’s legitimacy, but it is ready to talk with non-government Afghan politicians for arranging the peace process. The Taliban insists that the comprehensive ceasefire should be established only after the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country. President A. Ghani is against of abandonment of Afghanistan by both «international and regional partners», arguing that this will lead to a renewal of a cycle of conflict and disunity. The United States, talking with the Taliban representatives, insists on the renunciation of the Taliban’s links with international terrorism, the agreement should provide that Afghanistan shall not serve as a base for future terror attacks. Besides, a future political deal must necessarily provide for a sharing of power. A path should be found to domestic political consensus; inter alia, the issue of women’s rights should be resolved. Another very significant aspect is that great powers and neighbouring countries have their own interests in Afghanistan, and achieving a regional consensus on stability in Afghanistan will be critical.
Peace process, peace talks, ceasefire, troops withdrawal, Afghanistan, the Taliban, the USA.
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