Taliban agrees to next round of talks but not with Afghan government

KABUL: The Taliban on Sunday categorically rejected reports that they will be holding talks with representatives of the Afghan government in Saudi Arabia in January next year.
A spokesman for the Afghan government-appointed High Peace Council said on Saturday that the council members and government delegates are expected to take part in the talks.
Rejecting reports filed by certain sections of the media, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: “Some media outlets have published rumors that the representatives of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) will hold talks with those of the Kabul administration in Saudi Arabia,” he said in a statement emailed to reporters.
“These rumors are baseless. The position of the Islamic Emirate concerning talks with the Kabul administration remains the same and has not changed,”
He said the Taliban were advancing the negotiations’ process with the United States under a “strong and extensive plan to bring an end to the occupation of our country Afghanistan.”
On Saturday, the Afghan government and Saudi media confirmed that both King Salman and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed the matter during a phone conversation.
Ghani praised the “prominent” role played by Saudi “in consolidation of peace and stability in Afghanistan,” and said that the next meeting in the Kingdom would be “a good step and start for subsequent processes.”
He thanked King Salman for his support in working toward an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, even as the Saudi leader promised to use his offices to consolidate peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Last summer, Saudi Arabia hosted a global conference of Islamic scholars to discuss the Afghan war.
Two weeks ago, representatives from the US, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and UAE attended a meeting in Abu Dhabi to explore ways to end the Afghan war.
During the meeting, the Taliban said it would negotiate directly with the Afghan government only after the withdrawal of the US-led troops from Afghanistan.
Since then, US President Donald Trump has surprised American allies by announcing that he intended to halve the number of US troops in Afghanistan, from 14,000 to about 7,000.
The 17-year-old conflict in Afghanistan is America’s longest war, and Trump has long campaigned on bringing US soldiers home. Nevertheless, in 2017 he added 4,000 troops to the US forces there in an attempt to speed up the peace process.

Taliban agrees to next round of talks but not with Afghan government