Afghanistan's FM upbeat over talks

A timetable for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban could emerge from a roadmap to be finalized at a meeting next month, Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani told China Daily in an exclusive interview in Beijing on Wednesday.

The third round of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group meetings, involving Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States, will be held in Islamabad on Feb 6. The meeting will finalize a peace and reconciliation roadmap, Rabbani said.

The Afghan government feels "a sense of urgency" for negotiations with the Taliban and has been calling for the militants to join peace talks and "become a responsible political movement", Rabbani said.