WASHINGTON, May 17 (INP): The US administration has accelerated direct talks with the Taliban, initiated several months ago, that U.S. officials say they hope will enable President Obama to report progress toward a settlement of the Afghanistan war when he announces troop withdrawals in July. A senior Afghan official said a U.S. representative attended at least three
meetings in Qatar and Germany, one as recently as "eight or nine days ago," with a Taliban official considered close to Mohammad Omar, the group's leader, Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
State Department spokesman Michael A. Hammer on Monday declined to comment on the Afghan official's assertion, saying the United States had a "broad range of contacts across Afghanistan and the region, at many levels. We're not going to get into the details of those contacts."
The talks have proceeded on several tracks, including through nongovernmental intermediaries and Arab and European governments. The Taliban have made clear its preference for direct negotiations with the Americans and has proposed establishing a formal political office, with Qatar under consideration as a venue, according to U.S. officials.
An attempt to open talks with the insurgent group failed late last year when an alleged Taliban leader, secretly flown by NATO to Kabul, turned out to be a fraud. "Nobody wants to do that again," a senior Obama administration official said.
meetings in Qatar and Germany, one as recently as "eight or nine days ago," with a Taliban official considered close to Mohammad Omar, the group's leader, Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
State Department spokesman Michael A. Hammer on Monday declined to comment on the Afghan official's assertion, saying the United States had a "broad range of contacts across Afghanistan and the region, at many levels. We're not going to get into the details of those contacts."
The talks have proceeded on several tracks, including through nongovernmental intermediaries and Arab and European governments. The Taliban have made clear its preference for direct negotiations with the Americans and has proposed establishing a formal political office, with Qatar under consideration as a venue, according to U.S. officials.
An attempt to open talks with the insurgent group failed late last year when an alleged Taliban leader, secretly flown by NATO to Kabul, turned out to be a fraud. "Nobody wants to do that again," a senior Obama administration official said.
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