Kabul - President Ashraf Ghani said the Afghan politicians attending the Moscow talks have no executive authorities and are not officially representing Afghanistan.

In an exclusive interview with ToloNews, Ghani said a peace deal with the Taliban will not be implemented unless there is nationwide consensus. He said the Taliban’s move to cut ties with Al-Qaeda was a major step forward in the peace process.

Ghani meanwhile gave his assurance that presidential elections will be held on time. Elections are scheduled for July 20 this year.

Ghani also questioned the mechanism of the Moscow talks and said: “With whom, what will they agree upon there? Where is their executive power? Let hundreds of such meetings be held, but these would only be paper (agreements) unless there is an agreement by the Afghan government; Afghanistan’s national assembly and Afghanistan’s legal institutions.”

He said US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad consulted the Afghan government about his meeting last month with the Taliban and that the Afghan government was fully aware of what was happening at the US-Taliban meetings. “All talks are shared with us. All talks are set with us. The peace talks will move step by step with our consultations and according to our plan,” said Ghani.