Taliban claims it held preliminary peace talks with U.S. official over Afghanistan
Source: Global News
SLAMABAD — The Taliban held their first direct contact with a U.S. official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior official with the insurgent group said Saturday. It marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country’s protracted war.
The official described as “useful” a meeting with Alice Wells, the U.S.’s top diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week. He said the meeting was held in the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office since 2013.
U.S. officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place. However, Wells was in Doha, the Qatar capital, this week. In a statement following her return, the State Department said only that Wells had been in Doha, had met with the ruling family and “the United States is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government.”
Any talks about a future political setup would be between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the statement said.
Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/4358595/taliban-peace-talks-us-afghanistan/
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