The much-awaited Istanbul Conference on Afghan peace process has been postponed due to the Taliban's non-participation till the end of holy month of Ramadan.

In an interview with a local news channel, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said we thought that it would be beneficial to postpone it.

He said we consulted Qatar, the United States and the United Nations, and decided to hold it after Ramadan and Eid festivities.

The Turkish Foreign Minister said the conference would be meaningless without the Taliban joining.

An Afghan government spokesman declined comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said in a text message that they did not have any information about the postponement, and that he could not say anything about future dates for the conference post Ramadan.

The US State Department spokesman, Ned Price did not confirm the postponement, but said that broader diplomatic efforts will continue.