Taliban looks set for talks on peace
But they insist discussion won’t include Afghans.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN— Rep-resentatives from the Tali- ban, the United States and several Asian countries gath- ered in the United Arab Emir- ates on Monday for what offi- cials cautiously described as important meetings that could lead to formal talks to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan.
The optimism fostered by months of urgent U.S. diplo- macy was dampened by the Taliban’s apparent refusal to meet with a delegation of the Afghan government, although Afghan officials said late Monday that they had not given up hope that the two sides would talk.
The Taliban said in a statement Sunday that they would meet representatives of the United States as well as Paki- stan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Those countries, U.S. allies that have varying levels of influence over the Taliban, have been at the center of a Trump administration push to help shape the peace process.
The Taliban said nothing Sunday about meeting with the Afghan delegation, even though government negotiators also arrived for the talks, said Mujib Rahman Rahimi, a spokesman for the Afghan government.
Afghan officials said late Monday that conversations to arrange a meeting were continuing. Senior officials met the other delegations and discussed the need for “direct engagement of the Afghan government with the Taliban,” said the Afghan national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said late Monday that Taliban representatives had “no plans to meet and will not meet with the representatives of the Kabul administration.”
The Taliban have long refused to hold formal talks with the Afghan government. The militants have insisted on first brokering an agreement with the United States, which the group sees as the force that toppled their government in 2001.
The group seems to have shown more flexibility in recent weeks after a series of meetings with Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy assigned to bring everyone to the table. Taliban representatives participated in a conference on Afghan peace hosted by Russia last month that was also attended by a delegation from the Afghan side.
In addition to meeting the Taliban on several occasions, Khalilzad has been visiting countries in the region and trying to persuade them to push the insurgents to the table.
Chief among them is Pakistan, where Taliban leaders have long taken sanctuary. The ability to keep bases in Pakistan has been an important factor in the group’s ability to withstand the military might of a broad international coalition, which at its peak included more than 130,000 troops.
The Trump administration has increased its diplomatic and financial pressure on Pakistan, at a time when the country is struggling economically. Afghan officials said that Taliban leaders based in Pakistan were in the United Arab Emirates for talks — in addition to members of the Taliban political commission, who are based in Qatar.