KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban said on Monday they were not willing to attend a major summit on the Afghan peace process in Turkey if it took place this week, the militant group’s spokesman said. Turkey is hosting a crucial meeting this month with the United Nations and Qatar as part of a US-backed push to jump-start the Afghan peace process. “We can’t take part in Turkey’s conference on 16 April…and we already told Turkey this,” Taliban spokesman Mohammed Naeem said in a text message. US President Joe Biden has said that it would be ‘hard’ to withdraw troops by May, but that it was unlikely they would still be there next year. “Ambassador Khalilzad underscored why it was important both sides accelerate the peace process,” the US Embassy in Kabul said in a statement.

Source: Egypt Independent April 12, 2021 17:15 UTC