The new US plan could erase decades of progress in Afghanistan

Moving the negotiations from Qatar to Turkey would harm, not help, the Afghan peace process.

Last weekend, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, shared with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Afghan opposition and civil society leaders and Taliban negotiators a new plan for the ongoing peace process. The proposed road map calls for a United Nations-led international conference with regional participation to be held in Turkey later this month to oversee the establishment of an interim government and the signing of a power-sharing agreement between Afghanistan’s political factions – including those that do not currently have a seat at the negotiating table – and the Taliban. The proposal is the first action taken by the Biden administration to revive stalled peace talks before May 1, when the last 2,500 US troops are due to leave Afghanistan under a February 2020 deal struck between the Taliban and the former Trump administration.