The Afghanistan issue will be in the focus of discussions at the ninth winter session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which will open on Thursday in the Austrian capital, Vienna, an source in the organization has said.
The Afghanistan talks will take place in the second day of the session.
Kanat Saudabaev, the Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, which currently holds the organization's rotating chair, will deliver a speech during the meeting.
Addressing a special session of the OSCE Permanent Council in January, Saudabaev said his country intended to "pay special attention to Afghanistan."
Violence surged in the war-ravaged Central Asian state in 2009, with the Taliban staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and planting roadside devices as part of its fight to regain control of the country. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, before being toppled by U.S.-led forces.
In early December 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in the first part of 2010. However, with mounting deaths among troops, the Western allies hope to start a gradual withdrawal as early as in 2011, transferring security tasks to the Afghan army and police.
In late January, an international conference on Afghanistan took place in Britain's capital, London. Participants in the talks expressed support for the Afghan President Hamid Karzai government's plans to encourage low and mid-level Taliban fighters to reintegrate into society. The Taliban has said the campaign, which is expected to cost around $500 million, will fail as its fighters have no interest in material goods.
The Assembly's three General committees, the Committee on Political Affairs and Security, the Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment and the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, are expected to hold joint and separate discussions during the Assembly's session.
VIENNA, February 18 (RIA Novosti)
