US Expects Prisoner Release Completion, Intra-Afghan Talks in Next Few Days, Special Envoy Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States expects the intra-Afghan talks to commence in the coming days once Kabul completes the release of the remaining Taliban prisoners, Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad has said.

According to the US envoy, “a historic opportunity for peace” in the war-stricken country has emerged.

The United States “seeks a sovereign, unified, and democratic Afghanistan” that will not pose a threat to the world, and the prisoner release will bring everyone “one step closer” to this goal, Zalmay Khalilzad added.

On Sunday, the Loya Jirga, a council of Afghan tribal leaders, passed a resolution to green-light the release of the remaining Taliban captives in a bid to kick-start the long-awaited peace talks.

The prisoner release is a part of the US-Taliban February deal. While setting free most of the 5,000 militants on the list, the Afghan government held the 400 in question, arguing that their crimes were too serious. The radical movement, on its part, claims to have freed all the 1,000 government prisoners.

Sourse: sputniknews.com