The Guardian reports:

The Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, believes he is close to gaining Joe Biden’s support to stage a special G20 peace conference on Afghanistan next month that will include key players with close contact with the Taliban, including China, Russia and Turkey.

Draghi, the chair of the G20 group of nations, has been working on the plan for days, holding talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The Italian prime minister is also expected to hold a call with the Chinese resident, Xi Jinping, this week.

Biden has told Rome he is willing to talk to anyone, although there are some in his administration that see risks in seeking the support of Russia or China to counter a terrorist threat inside Afghanistan.

The broader meeting, wider than the one held in London under the auspices of the G7 and chaired by the UK this week, could act as a powerful signal to the Taliban that the world is united in wanting the new regime at minimum to prevent Afghanistan becoming a launch pad for terrorist attacks again.

Biden is described as open minded about the meeting, although some Democrats may fear it has the potential merely to underline the scale of the US political and military retreat and show Washington needs the support of its adversaries to prevent the rebirth of a terrorist network in Afghanistan. [Continue reading…]