Taliban Say They Are Readying For Talks With The Afghan Government

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban delegation, and Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan, shake hands after signing an agreement at a ceremony between members of Afghanistan's Taliban and the U.S. in Doha, Qatar February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Ibraheem al Omari

Reuters: Afghan peace talks seen this month after U.S. shuttle diplomacy

KABUL/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Talks to end the 18-year-old conflict in Afghanistan may begin this month, sources said on Monday, a day after the U.S. special envoy visited the capital of neighbouring Pakistan and met Taliban leaders in Qatar.

The United States signed a troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban in February, but its attempts to usher the insurgent group towards peace talks with the Afghan government have been mired in setbacks and violence surged in March and April.

The Taliban’s spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Twitter that U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad had discussed “the commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations” at the insurgent group’s political capital, Doha, on Sunday. Khalilzad had earlier met Pakistan’s army chief of staff, according to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.

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Update #1: Taliban say they are readying for talks with Kabul leaders (Military Times/AP)
Update #2: Afghan peace talks may begin this month after US envoy visits Pakistan, meets Taliban in Qatar – reports (RT)

WNU Editor: I have to see it to believe it.