The Afghan peace process was beginning to see signs of revival after the stalling of Doha talks in January and a surge of Taliban violence in early February. As the Biden administration reviews U.S. Afghanistan strategy, which includes how far the Taliban have fulfilled their commitments for a U.S. troop withdrawal, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in mid-February and expressed support for the peace process. The U.S. even released a draft peace agreement. However, the reveal March 7 of a letter from Secretary Blinken to President Ghani calling for a 90-day reduction in violence and a transitional government, coupled with a warning that a U.S. exit by May 1 remained possible, puts the contours of the peace process into some question. Still, the new twist by the Biden team to involve all regional players – Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan, China, U.S. – for a “unified” approach suggests an openness to even bolder options.

In this Policy Alert, we briefly update the Rising Powers’ reactions to advances in the Afghan peace process.

Read the Policy Alert here.