UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday welcomed the agreement by the Afghan government and the Taliban to expedite peace talks, said Guterres' press office. 
  
The secretary-general is encouraged by the joint declaration issued in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday, under which the two sides agreed to accelerate their high-level engagements in order to find a "timely and just solution" to the conflict, said the press office in a note to correspondents. 

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Guterres echoed a joint statement issued on Monday by the diplomatic missions of 15 countries, NATO and the European Union to Afghanistan calling for the end of violence, a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and meaningful peace negotiations, said the press office. 
  
"The secretary-general underscores the importance of reaching, as a matter of urgency, a negotiated settlement that responds to the needs of all Afghan men and women. He urges the parties to make good on their commitment to accelerating negotiations and meeting the humanitarian needs of the population. He calls upon the international community to unite its efforts in support of the peace process," it said. 
  
The secretary-general expressed the hope that Eid al-Adha, which falls on Tuesday, will be celebrated in peace in Afghanistan.

The United States, the European Union, and more than a dozen other foreign missions in Afghanistan on Monday called for "an urgent end" to the Taliban's military offensive in a joint statement, saying it was at odds with claims they want to secure a political deal to end the conflict.  

"The Taliban's offensive is in direct contradiction to their claim to support a negotiated settlement," the statement read. "It has resulted in loss of innocent Afghan lives, including through continued targeted killings, displacement of the civilian population, looting and burning of buildings, destruction of vital infrastructure, and damage to communication networks."  

For months, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban have been meeting on and off in Doha but have achieved little. A joint declaration late Sunday said they had agreed on the need to reach a "just solution" and will meet again next week.  

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy on Afghanistan, welcomed the latest round of talks but tweeted that "more must be done, urgently." 

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Fighting between Afghan government forces and Taliban fighters has escalated since U.S. troops began their final withdrawal from Afghanistan in early May. The Taliban said earlier this month that it had gained control of over 85 percent of Afghan territory, but Afghan security forces have recently beefed up operations against the Taliban militants. 

China has stressed that political dialogue is the fundamental way to achieve national reconciliation and lasting peace in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to make a clean break with all terrorist forces. 

(With input from Xinhua, AFP)