Afghan Muslims

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 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.

Turkey has welcomed a solution to a months-long dispute on who will run Afghanistan following presidential elections and underlined that Turkey will continue to support the country.

Turkey on May 17 welcomed the political agreement between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah, hoping that the deal would lead to intra-Afghan negotiations, and ultimately bring lasting peace in the war-torn country.

Afghanistan's government late on March 26 announced a 21-member team to negotiate with the Taliban in a tentative sign of progress for the United States-brokered peace deal.

Washington's unprecedented threat to cut $1 billion in Afghanistan funding a response to the refusal of rivals in Kabul to work together to advance peace comes at a time when the impoverished nation risks being overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived on March 23 in Kabul on an urgent visit to try to move forward a U.S. peace deal signed last month with the Taliban, a trip that comes despite the coronavirus pandemic, at a time when world leaders and statesmen are curtailing official travel.

The peace accord signed between the United States and the Taliban is at a critical juncture, according to NATO's former civilian representative in Afghanistan. The deal foresees negotiations to be undertaken between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

After a series of delays, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree early on March 11 promising to release 1,500 Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture to get intra-Afghan negotiations started.

A recent peace deal signed between the United States and the Taliban called for the release of up to 5,000 prisoners ahead of the much sought-after negotiations.

American troops have begun leaving Afghanistan for the initial troop withdrawal required in the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement, the U.S. military confirmed on March 9, amid political chaos in Kabul that threatens the deal.