Taliban Won’t Attend Turkey Conference If Held This Week

Date still not decided for key Istanbul meeting

Weeks of expectation of the high-profile Istanbul conference had all suggested one of a handful of starting dates, all this week. With no decisions made, the Taliban has warned they will no longer be able to attend if it turns out to be this week.

Taliban spokesmen said they’d already told Turkey they couldn’t attend, even if the conference started on Friday, but that they are open to attending if it happens at a later date.

The conference was meant to try to kickstart new peace proposals, including from Afghan officials, the US, and the Taliban. It was also intended to discuss the US pullout by May, as the peace deal agreed to.

The US has indicated that the May 1 deadline won’t be met, and is seeking a 3-6 month extension. The Taliban is pushing for on-time pullout, and that’s one reason to not have the talks delayed too much. At the same time, it would be important to set the date ahead of time so the relevant parties are able to attend.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press. View all posts by Jason Ditz

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3 thoughts on “Taliban Won’t Attend Turkey Conference If Held This Week”

William Cooke says:

April 13, 2021 at 4:13 am

Ramadan?
Don Bacon says:

April 13, 2021 at 1:08 pm

from LWJ–

Taliban rejects U.S. peace plan, six month extension in withdrawal deadline

The Taliban has published a statement rejecting the reported terms of a State Department peace plan for Afghanistan, as well as a proposed six-month delay in the U.S. withdrawal from the country.
The message was published in English on the Taliban’s Voice of Jihad website, which produces media in multiple languages for the group’s Islamic Emirate.
Earlier this month, President Biden said that while he “can’t picture” American forces in Afghanistan next year, it was going to be “hard” to meet the May 1 withdrawal date set in the Trump administration’s deal with the Taliban. The Taliban, which refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate throughout its statement, once again rejects a delay in the U.S. withdrawal.
“The Islamic Emirate responded firmly to Biden’s comments and announced that if the occupying forces do not leave by the agreed upon date, then attacks shall resume,” the Taliban warns, repeating an earlier threat to attack American and NATO forces should they fail to depart by May 1.
“Any deal made with the Taliban regarding a six-month extension is also of no benefit,” the Taliban’s men write. . . .here
thomas malthaus says:

April 13, 2021 at 11:46 am

https://journal-neo.org/2021/04/12/why-is-the-us-involving-turkey-in-afghanistan/

Why is the the US Involving Turkey in Afghanistan? Authored by Salman Rafi Sheikh.

I wouldn’t expect the Taliban to attend a meeting where Turkey is a participant.

I think the Taliban will renew or extend a friendship toward Iran if they’ve not already done so. Furthermore, I think China and Iran will sanction or lessen business ties with Turkey.

With that as a backdrop, it’s difficult for Erdogan to plead for Turks to dump their foreign currencies, silver, and gold in exchange for acquiring more lira.

https://www.moonofalabama.org/

Turkey running interference or proxy for US strategic interests.

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