Turkey says it plans to host an Afghan peace conference in Istanbul next month ahead of a deadline for a U.S. troop withdrawal.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on March 12 that Ankara considers itself "one of the most-important actors in Afghanistan."
"We will do this (meeting) in coordination with our brothers in Qatar," the Anadolu state news agency quoted Cavusoglu as saying in reference to a separate round of talks between the Afghan government and Taliban staged in Doha. He gave no specific date for the meeting.
He added that Turkey intended to appoint a special envoy to the peace process.
"Both the Taliban and the negotiation delegation, meaning the government side, has asked us to host such a meeting before," Cavusoglu said.
The diplomatic push comes as U.S. President Joe Biden is completing a review of an agreement with the Taliban negotiated by former president Donald Trump's administration to remove the final U.S. troops in the war-torn country by May.
On March 9, Russia also announced plans to hold a conference in Moscow next week to discuss Afghanistan, although it was unclear if the United States would attend.