Afghan peace process

Turkey announced on April 20 that it is postponing a much-anticipated Afghan peace conference in Istanbul until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Turkey announced on April 13 that a keenly awaited international conference on the Afghan peace process will be held in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4.

The high-level and inclusive conference between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban is being co-convened by Turkey, Qatar, and the U.N., according to a joint statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the Afghan peace process and a number of other issues in a phone call on April 12. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on April 11 spoke by phone with his Afghan counterpart Mohammad Hanif Atmar, said Turkish diplomatic sources.

Çavuşoğlu and Mohammad Hanif Atmar discussed the Afghan peace process, according to the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The Turkish foreign minister on March 30 welcomed peace negotiations between the representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.

"Intra-Afghan negotiations have raised hopes to achieve lasting peace," said Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at the 9th Ministerial Meeting of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process, in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on March 27 received U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and his accompanying delegation at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.

During the meeting, recent developments in Afghanistan and the details of Afghan peace talks that Turkey plans to host in Istanbul were discussed.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, on his first visit to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief, said on March 21 that the Biden administration wants to see "a responsible end" to America's longest war, but the level of violence must decrease for "fruitful" diplomacy to have a chance.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Afghan counterpart Hanif Atmar spoke about the Afghan peace process over the phone on March 13, according to diplomatic sources.

The two discussed a meeting on the peace process set to be held in Istanbul on April, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Turkey and Egypt have started diplomatic-level contacts after years-long hiatus with disruption of relations in 2013, according to the Turkish foreign minister.

"We have contacts both at the level of intelligence and foreign ministries with Egypt. Diplomatic-level contacts have started," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency and TRT.

Turkish presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın on Dec. 3 welcomed U.S. special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, the presidency said in a statement.

In a meeting at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, the two discussed the ongoing intra-Afghan peace talks in Doha, Qatar, which are aimed at ending 19 years of war, as well as regional issues.