SECOND MEETING OF STATES WITH INFLUENCE IN AFGHANISTAN HELD AT HEADQUARTERS ON 16 APRIL
Press Release
SG/SM/6209
AFG/73
SECOND MEETING OF STATES WITH INFLUENCE IN AFGHANISTAN HELD AT HEADQUARTERS ON 16 APRIL
19970416 The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Kofi Annan:The second meeting of regional States and other States with influence in Afghanistan and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) took place at United Nations Headquarters on 16 April. It was chaired by United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast. At the beginning of the meeting, Norbert Holl, Head of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan, made a statement on the current situation and his peacemaking activities in Afghanistan.
The Member States invited were China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom, United States and Uzbekistan.
The meeting assessed the situation in Afghanistan and reaffirmed that there could be no lasting military solution to the conflict there. The delegations were unanimous that General Assembly resolution 51/195 remained the basis for a coordinated international effort to solve the Afghan conflict: namely, the need for an immediate cease-fire, a national accord agreeable to the entire Afghan people, the termination of the flow of arms into Afghanistan and the preservation of the territorial integrity and unity of Afghanistan.
All delegations reconfirmed their full support for the central role of the United Nations as a neutral and impartial element in facilitating a peaceful dialogue among the warring factions, and for Mr. Holl's efforts. They stressed, in this context, that all the various initiatives for peace in Afghanistan should be closely coordinated with the United Nations. Referring to heightened expectations, some delegations underlined the need to strengthen the ability of the United Nations to fulfil its central role. The participants made a number of suggestions to reinforce existing United Nations arrangements to promote the peace process, including more frequent meetings under the formula used in November and today.
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