DM Monitoring
UNITED NATIONS: A Chinese envoy said here Thursday that China supports the United Nations (UN) in playing a greater role in the Afghan issue.
“The Afghan peace process is facing a historic opportunity, and China firmly supports an inclusive peace process that is ‘Afghan-led and Afghan-owned,’” Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, told the “6+2” Format Video Conference on Afghanistan, chaired by UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo. Recently, the Afghan government and the Taliban have made efforts in creating conditions for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations by releasing prisoners to each other, Zhang said, adding that China appreciates this and calls for the early launch of the negotiations.
China respects the choice of the Afghan people for the country’s future and supports Afghanistan in safeguarding national unity and political stability, said Zhang.
“China calls on all parties in Afghanistan to put the national interests first and form an inclusive government,” the envoy said.
Zhang pointed out that China is concerned about the recent resurgence of violence in Afghanistan, and urges the international community and all parties in Afghanistan to strengthen the country’s security capability.
“China welcomes the agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban. We call on the parties concerned to ensure, in implementing the agreement, that the withdrawal of foreign troops in Afghanistan is conducted in an orderly and responsible manner to avoid the rise of terrorist activities,” said the ambassador.
