How the coronavirus is affecting the Taliban-Afghan government talks

The novel coronavirus pandemic hasn't stopped the Taliban and the Afghan government from trying to launch negotiations with the goal of securing a peace deal in Afghanistan. And they have Skype to thank for that, The New York Times reports.

Before official talks start, the two sides are trying settle a dispute over prisoner exchanges. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has rejected terms agreed upon by the Taliban and the U.S. in prior talks that called for the release of 5,000 Taliban and 1,000 Afghan government prisoners as a prerequisite for negotiations. That prompted some reshuffling, and the U.S. now supports a phased release of prisoners conditioned upon the Taliban stopping their attacks, which the Taliban believes violates the original terms. And the virus, of course, only adds an extra challenge to the already complex peace effort.

Over the weekend, representatives gathered from five separate locations for a video conference via Skype as part of an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus to get the prisoner negotiations going. There's likely a lot more work to be done, but reports are that there were common points of emphasis.

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One thing that was also reportedly very clear is that things need to get done swiftly now more than ever. "Everyone understands the coronavirus threat makes prisoner releases that much more urgent," said U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad. Read more at The New York Times.