Turkish, Afghan foreign ministers hold phone call

Turkey’s foreign minister spoke by phone late Thursday with his Afghan counterpart.

Mevlut Cavusoglu and Mohammad Hanif Atmar discussed the Afghan peace process, according to Turkish diplomatic sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Turkey maintains contacts with Afghan parties in coordination with the United Nations and Qatar for the peace process in Afghanistan.

On April 20, Turkey announced the postponement of a much-anticipated Afghan peace conference in Istanbul until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Taliban declined to attend the peace conference in Turkey, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign troops by May in line with the Doha Agreement with the US.

The meeting was scheduled for April 24-May 4 to fast-track an agreement between the Taliban and Kabul amid an announcement by Washington that foreign troops would leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11.