Germany pushes Afghanistan for talks with Taliban
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on the Afghan government to continue so-called peace talks with the Taliban militant group.
Speaking after his arrival on Sunday in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Steinmeier called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to move ahead with faltering peace talks with the Taliban.
He also called reconciliation the "only reasonable way" to end the country's long-running conflict, saying, "The unique chance presented by the peace talks must not be squandered."
The remarks come as the first round of talks between a four-member delegation of the Afghan High Peace Council (HPC) and the Taliban took place in early July in the Pakistani city of Murree, north of the capital Islamabad. The parties agreed to meet again.
The delegation from Kabul has described the meeting as a step in the right direction and vowed more substantive talks on ending the violence in Afghanistan during the upcoming round of talks.
However, a second round planned for July 18 was canceled owing to a power struggle within the militant group after the announcement of death of its former leader, Mullah Omar.
Steinmeier also promised Afghanistan Berlin's continued support. Germany partially withdrew its combat troops from Afghanistan nine months ago; however, some 800 German soldiers still remain in the war-ravaged country to allegedly help advise and train the local Afghan security forces.
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