The Moscow conference on Afghan peace has rejected the Talibans idea of forming an Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan but urged the government to engage openly with their Taliban counterparts to work for a negotiated settlement of the conflict.

A joint statement was issued after the conference in which the four primary representative countries, Russia, China, the US and Pakistan, stated that they would not support the return of an Islamic emirate system in Afghanistan.

The joint statement recognized the desire of the Afghan people for peace and called for a reduction in violence from all sides. It urged the Taliban not to launch a Spring offensive, and reiterated calls for a negotiated settlement of the conflict.

"As stated in the UNSC resolution 2513 (2020), we do not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate and we call on the Government of the Islamic Republic and the High Council for National Reconciliation to engage openly with their Taliban counterparts regarding a negotiated settlement," the statement said.

An Afghan delegation led by the chair of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Abdullah Abdullah, and a Taliban delegation led by the group's political deputy Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, were also present.

But the Taliban was not happy with the statement. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder and deputy leader of the Taliban, told participants in the Moscow conference that "Afghans should be left to their own fate."

"The world should take into account the Islamic values, independence and national interests of the Afghan people," Baradar said.

The one-day gathering was part of an intense diplomatic push to jumpstart a stalled peace process amid a looming deadline for withdrawal of foreign forces from the country. There are fears that Afghanistan will descend into chaos if international forces depart without a negotiated political settlement in place.

The statement also called on the Afghan government and the Taliban to ensure that terrorist groups and individuals do not use Afghan soil to threaten the security of any other nation.

The meeting is the first in a series of three major international meetings aimed at building a consensus for an interim government in Kabul among the Taliban and the disparate factions united under the Afghan government, according to a written plan U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has shared with Afghan leaders.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has vehemently opposed an interim government. Earlier this month, he said the transfer of power through elections is a "non-negotiable" principle. "We stand ready to discuss holding free, fair, and inclusive elections under the auspices of the international community. We can also talk about the date of the elections and reach a conclusion," he said.

The peace talks resumed in early January in Qatar but quickly halted, marred by a spike in violence across Afghanistan, with the warring sides blaming one another.

The Taliban wanted that Islamic rule would be in place in post-war Afghanistan but the Afghan government instead demanded the Taliban first join the current political system and declare a ceasefire.

(Under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)