Afghan Taliban meets with US, Pakistan officials in UAE for peace talks

Efforts are being made by Washington to press for a negotiated end to Afghanistan's devastating 17-year conflict.

The meetings are the latest in a flurry of diplomatic efforts aimed at bringing the Taliban to the table for negotiations.
Reuters

The meetings are the latest in a flurry of diplomatic efforts aimed at bringing the Taliban to the table for negotiations.

The Afghanistan Taliban said its representatives met officials from the US and Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, amid efforts by Washington to press for a negotiated end to Afghanistan's devastating 17-year conflict.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group had also met representatives from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, SITE Intelligence Group reported on Monday, but not the Afghanistan government.

Washington confirmed meetings were ongoing in Abu Dhabi “to promote an intra-Afghan dialogue toward ending the conflict”, and that its envoy Zalmay Khalilzad was in the region. 

Khalilzad “has in the past met, and will continue to meet with all interested parties, including the Taliban, to support a negotiated settlement to the conflict,” it continued. 

It did not confirm that Khalilzad or any other US officials had met with the Taliban on Monday, and the tweet by the Pakistani foreign ministry said only that talks were being held, without specifying who attended them. 

However in a statement late on Sunday the Taliban announced “another meeting” between the militants and the US would be held in the UAE on Monday. 

They issued another statement on Monday repeating their long-standing refusal to meet with representatives of the government in Kabul and insisting they will only speak with US officials. 

Khalilzad has made several trips to the region since his appointment in September. 

On this trip the State Department said he is also visiting Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Qatar, and Belgium, where he tweeted that he had met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. 

Flurry of diplomatic efforts

The meetings are the latest in a flurry of diplomatic efforts aimed at bringing the Taliban to the table for negotiations with the Afghan government on ending the conflict which began with the US invasion in 2001. 

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced in late November the establishment of a 12-person negotiating team to talk peace with the Taliban. 

The militants have consistently refused to meet with the Kabul government, however, and civilians continue to pay a disproportionate price in Afghanistan as attacks continue. 

The international community remains optimistic. 

“The possibility of a negotiated end to the conflict has never been more real in the past 17 years than it is now,” the head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, told the UN Security Council in New York on Monday.

Route 6