More than a dozen diplomatic missions in Afghanistan have called for "an urgent end" to the Taliban's ruthless military offensive, saying it was at odds with claims they want to secure a political deal to end the conflict.
The joint statement was signed by Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union delegation, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Britain and the United States, and NATO’s senior civilian representative.
"The Taliban's offensive is in direct contradiction to their claim to support a negotiated settlement," the statement read.
"It has resulted in loss of innocent Afghan lives, including through continued targeted killings, displacement of the civilian population, looting and burning of buildings, destruction of vital infrastructure, and damage to communication networks."
For months, the two sides have been meeting on and off in the Qatari capital but have achieved little, if any, notable success with the discussions appearing to have lost momentum as the militants made enormous battlefield gains.
A joint statement released late Sunday said little more than they had agreed on the need to reach a "just solution", and to meet again next week.
"We also agreed that there should be no pause in the negotiations," Abdullah Abdullah, who oversees the Afghan government's delegation, told AFP on Monday.
He noted, however, that neither side was currently pursuing a joint ceasefire during the talks, despite urgent calls from Afghan civil society and the international community to end the surge in fighting.
The US special envoy on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who met with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is Islamabad on Monday, welcomed the latest round of talks but tweeted that "more must be done, urgently".
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar sign in Doha in 2020. Source: AAP
Turkish talks
On the heels of the weekend summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his administration was also hoping to start talks with the Taliban over the group's refusal to let Ankara run the Kabul airport after US troops withdraw from Afghanistan.
"We will see what kind of talks we will have with the Taliban and see where these talks take us," Mr Erdogan told journalists in Istanbul on Monday.
Turkey has been negotiating with US defence officials over an offer to secure Kabul airport, which is key to allowing countries to retain a diplomatic presence in the war-torn country after the troop withdrawal.
Last week, the Taliban called Turkey's offer "reprehensible".
Fighting continued to flare in Afghanistan with both the Taliban and government making claims of taking and re-taking territory in various areas across the country.
Over the weekend, the Taliban's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada released his own statement saying he "strenuously favours" a political settlement, even as the hardline Islamist movement continues its sweeping offensive across the nation.
He added that the group is seeking "good and strong diplomatic, economic and political relations... with all world countries, including America" following the imminent withdrawal of foreign forces.
Despite coming days ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday, the statement notably made no mention of a formal call for a ceasefire.
Over the years, the Taliban have announced a series of short truces during Islamic holidays.
However, the group has been criticised for using them to resupply and reinforce their fighters, allowing them to launch devastating onslaughts on Afghanistan's security forces once the truces expire.
With foreign forces in the last stages of a withdrawal due to be complete by the end of August, the Taliban have cut a huge swath across Afghanistan, capturing hundreds of districts, seizing key border crossings and encircling provincial capitals.
