KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2020) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met with Niels Annen, a minister of state at the German Foreign Office, on Wednesday to discuss the peace process in the Islamic Republic, the presidential office has said.
During the talks, Annen reaffirmed Berlin's commitment to helping the Afghan peace process and development. He also welcomed the growing role of women in the Afghan society.
Ghani, in turn, thanked Germany for its assistance and cooperation. He stressed that lasting peace and the end of the war were something that all Afghans, including women and the youth, were longing for.
"Peace is a wonderful thing and priority for the Afghan government and the nation. Direct dialogue, negotiations and ceasefire are the only meaningful steps in the peace process," he said, as quoted by the presidential office.
The president noted that Kabul was working closely with the United States and all international allies, including Germany, to end the years-long war in Afghanistan.
He added that fighting terrorist safe havens, cutting Taliban's ties with terrorist groups, cracking down on drugs and criminal economy were main priorities for bringing peace to Afghanistan. The president said that national security and defense forces fighting terrorism were sacrificing not just for Afghanistan, but the entire world.
Since 2018, the United States and the Taliban have been attempting to negotiate a peace deal that would ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops in exchange for the movement's guarantee that Afghanistan would not become a safe haven for terrorists. The talks, however, have excluded the Afghan government since the Taliban refuse to engage in a dialogue with it.
