<p>ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey announced Tuesday that it will host a 10-day peace conference in Istanbul between Afghanistan’s warring sides later this month.</p>
<p>A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said the conference will gather representatives of the Taliban and of the Afghan government, as well as Turkish, Qatari and U.N. officials who are co-organizing the meeting. The conference will be held between April 24 and May 4, the ministry said.</p>
<p>The surprise announcement came after a Taliban spokesman said Monday the religious militia would not attend a peace conference that had been tentatively planned to take place in Turkey later this week, putting U.S. efforts for a peace plan in jeopardy.</p>
<p>Time is running out on a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in keeping with a deal the Trump administration made with the Taliban more than a year ago.</p>
<p>U.S. President Joe Biden has said he is committed to ending America’s longest war, but the United States is reportedly looking for a three- to six-month extension.</p>
<p>The Taliban so far have refused, warning of “consequences” if Washington reneges on the deal and the withdrawal timeline.</p>
<p>The Turkish Foreign Ministry did not provide detailed information on the conference’s expected participants. It said the aim of the meeting would be to “accelerate and complement the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations” that have been taking place in Doha, Qatar and to achieve a “just and durable political settlement.”</p>
<p>It said the conference agenda was the “subject of extensive consultations with the Afghan parties.”</p>
<p>“The conference will focus on helping the negotiating parties reach a set of shared, foundational principles that reflect an agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap to a future political settlement and an end to the conflict,” the ministry said. </p>
