EU envoy “optimistic” for Afghan peace agreement in near future

The European Union’s new envoy to Afghanistan said on Friday (June 4) that he was “optimistic” about a peace agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban “in the relatively near future”.

The envoy, Tomas Niklasson, is visiting Afghanistan before he departs for Doha to meet the Afghan government and Taliban officials for peace negotiations on Saturday (June 5).

Niklasson nevertheless said he is “pessimistic for the developments over the next few months”. He added that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan “doesn’t change anything” for the EU’s policies and commitment to the Afghan people.

Nearly 1,800 civilians were killed or wounded in the first three months of 2021 during fighting between government forces and Taliban insurgents despite efforts to find peace, the United Nations said last month. Many analysts have warned that the country could descend into civil war as efforts to secure a peace deal through talks in Doha have largely stalled.

The U.S. has announced a plan to withdraw all of its troops by Sept. 11, exactly two decades since the al Qaeda attacks on the United States that led to a new round of war in Afghanistan.