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Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan welcomed “the agreement between the leaders of the two main political factions” in Afghanistan and expressed hope that “this important development will accelerate the start of intra-Afghan talks.” The statement was published following a videoconference between the four countries’ special envoys on Afghanistan that was held a day after Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah signed a deal on cooperation and dividing powers in the country, afghanistan.ru online edition reports.

With this in view, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and Islamabad “call on all Afghan ethnic groups and parties, including Taliban, to act upon the opportunities preparing the situation to launch the Intra-Afghan negotiations as soon as possible”.

The deal was welcomed by the United States and the NATO. On May 17, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has phoned Ghani and Dr.Abdullah. A statement by the US State Department said “Secretary of State Pompeo congratulated the two leaders for reaching an agreement on inclusive governance for Afghanistan.” Secretary Pompeo noted that he regretted the time lost during the political impasse. He reiterated that the priority for the United States remains a political settlement to end the conflict and welcomed the commitment by the two leaders to act immediately in support of prompt entry into intra-Afghan negotiations,” the statement added.

Germany also welcomed the political agreement concluded by the leadership in Kabul. “This agreement provides an opportunity to overcome the political blockade and thereby the opportunity to overcome the consequences that this blockade had on the negotiating capabilities of the Afghan government,” said German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr. “In our opinion, it is now important that all parties cooperate really and closely with each other.”

In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey welcomed the political agreement between Ghani and Dr. Abdullah, hoping that the deal would lead to intra-Afghan negotiations, and ultimately bring lasting peace in the war-torn country. “Turkey is pleased that the political crisis in Afghanistan, which began following the announcement of the results of presidential elections held on September 28, 2019, has ended with a political reconciliation achieved between the parties on the formation of a broad-based and inclusive government,” Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.“We invite all political actors in Afghanistan to work harmoniously, in the framework of the achieved reconciliation, for the interests of the Afghan people and focus on intra-Afghan negotiations,” it said.

Despite the fact that now an opposition politician, Dr. Abdullah, has become the peace process lead on behalf of the administration, it did not bring enthusiasm among the Taliban. The movement compared the situation with the separation of powers in 2014.

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