KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan will not attend peace talks hosted by Russia, two senior government officials said Wednesday, a decision that could make Moscow reconsider its plan to invite the Taliban to a multinational conference to discuss the future of the country. The conference scheduled for Sept. 4 is aimed at bringing Taliban representatives to the negotiating table in Moscow. Russia has invited 12 countries, including the United States, to the Moscow talks but Washington has declined the invitation. "We have decided against attending the Moscow conference," said a official working with the foreign ministry in Kabul, adding that the government will "hold direct talks" with the Taliban, without the direct involvement of foreign powers. (Reporting by Rupam Jain; editing by David Stamp) … [Read more...] about Afghanistan will not attend Russia-led peace talks with Taliban
Taliban peace talks
Afghanistan seeks Russian help to press Taliban into peace talks
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan hopes Russia can press Taliban insurgents into holding peace talks with the government, Afghanistan's top security official said on Wednesday after he met Russia's ambassador in Kabul. The Taliban, fighting to oust U.S. and other foreign forces and defeat Afghanistan's Western-backed government, plan to take part in talks on Afghan peace in Moscow on Sept. 4, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Afghanistan's national security adviser, Hanif Atmar, told Russia's ambassador that Afghanistan appreciated Russia's support for the peace process and called upon it "to put pressure on Taliban insurgents to begin negotiations with the Afghan government", Atmar's office said. The Taliban this week rejected a government offer of a three-month ceasefire and said they would press on with their war, two insurgent commanders told Reuters, after a series of militant attacks in which hundreds of people have been killed. Russian … [Read more...] about Afghanistan seeks Russian help to press Taliban into peace talks
Peace talks in Afghanistan more elusive with Taliban
Rahim Faiez Associated Press Published 10:30 p.m. UTC Jul 11, 2018 Kabul, Afghanistan – With the Taliban shrugging off the Afghan government’s latest offers of a cease-fire and negotiations, peace seems as elusive as it has been for decades in this war-battered country, both for troops on the front lines and for civilians facing frequent attacks. The Taliban have been gaining more ground in their annual spring offensive, ignoring President Ashraf Ghani’s calls for talks. Hoping to end the nearly 17-year war, he had offered unprecedented incentives, including passports for insurgents and their families. Ghani had also offered to work toward removing international sanctions against the group’s leaders and allowing the Taliban to open official headquarters in the capital, Kabul. But for that to happen, he stressed, a cease-fire must first be agreed on and the Taliban have to become a political group rather than an armed insurgency. In June, the Taliban … [Read more...] about Peace talks in Afghanistan more elusive with Taliban
Pompeo pushes peace talks on unannounced trip to Afghanistan
Matthew Lee, Ap Diplomatic Writer Updated 9:18 am CDT, Monday, July 9, 2018 window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-5', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 5', target_type: 'mix' }); _taboola.push({flush: true}); Photo: Rahmat Gul, AP Image 1of/5 CaptionClose Image 1 of 5 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks during, a press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 9, 2018. Pompeo used an unannounced trip Monday to Afghanistan to step up the Trump administration's calls for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. less U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks during, a press conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 9, 2018. … [Read more...] about Pompeo pushes peace talks on unannounced trip to Afghanistan
‘Unacceptable’ for Taliban to refuse peace talks, U.S. official says
KABUL (Reuters) – Pressure is building on the Taliban to respond to President Ashraf Ghani’s offer for peace talks, in the face of growing demands for an end to the 17-year-long war in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official said. “Increasingly, I think it’s becoming unacceptable for the Taliban not to negotiate,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Alice Wells told reporters during a visit to Kabul. “Right now it’s the Taliban leaders, and frankly it’s Taliban leaders who aren’t residing in Afghanistan, who are the obstacle to a negotiated political settlement,” said Wells, one of the State Department’s top officials dealing with Afghanistan. Her remarks were made on Saturday but embargoed for release on Sunday. The Taliban, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law after being toppled by a U.S.-led campaign in 2001, have so far rebuffed Ghani’s call for talks following a … [Read more...] about ‘Unacceptable’ for Taliban to refuse peace talks, U.S. official says