US agrees to talks with Taliban after group announces Qatar office
US officials say they will begin formal talks with the Taliban over Afghanistan at the group’s new Qatar office within days
The Taliban today announced they would open the facility in Qatar to try to find a political solution to the war in Afghanistan.
Senior Obama administration officials, who did not want to be named, described the Taliban’s move to open the office as a stepping stone to full Taliban renouncement of al Qaida.
A spokesman said that the group opposes the use of Afghan soil to threaten other countries and supports the negotiating process.
Those two statements have been a key demand of both the US and Afghan governments before talks can begin.
The spokesman said that the Taliban are willing to use all legal means to end what they called the occupation of Afghanistan.
The US officials said the US and Taliban representatives will hold bilateral meetings, then it is expected that Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s High Peace Council will follow up with its own talks a few days later.
