US State Dept says senior Afghan govt delegation set to visit Doha

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said late Wednesday that Washington continues to believe the only solution to Afghanistan’s problem is a political settlement and in line with this the Afghan government is sending a senior delegation to Doha.

Addressing a press conference, Price did not say when this visit would take place nor did he say who would lead this “senior delegation”.

He said: “We have been very clear about this, that we continue to believe the Islamic Republic – that is to say, the Afghan Government continues to believe that diplomacy is the only durable and just way to reach a political settlement here.

“I won’t speak for the Taliban, but they continue to engage in that diplomacy in Doha. The Islamic Republic, the Afghan Government is sending a senior delegation to Doha. The special envoy (Zalmay Khalilzad) and his team are engaged, supporting these intra-Afghan discussions in Doha,” Price said.

“We continue to believe – and the international community continues to believe, including, if you look at recent statements from some of our closest allies, but also from countries with whom we share little else – that this diplomatic path is the most effective, and certainly the best path to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.”

Price also slammed the killing of 22 Afghan commandos by the Taliban and said the video, of the event, “depicts horrifying scenes. The killing – in this case, the slaughter – of unarmed individuals is – it’s an atrocious act, it’s an outrageous sight, and of course we condemn it.”

Price also reiterated a previous comment of his that “the Taliban too understands that only through diplomacy can they garner any sort of legitimacy.”

He said it is Washington’s opinion and that of the international community that any government “that comes to power through the barrel of a gun, that comes to power through force in Afghanistan, any government that doesn’t respect fundamental and universal rights is not one that will have legitimacy in the eyes of the broad international community. It is not one that will have the support of the Afghan people.”

He said it’s very important that any future government of Afghanistan that wants durability will have to be one that governs justly. “And only through diplomacy, only through the Afghan people having a say will any future government be able to accrue that legitimacy, will be able to accrue assistance from the international community, which has been vital – indispensable, I would say, to the Afghan Government.

“And that’s why only through that process will any future government be able to achieve that durability.”