Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a joint news conference with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen following a security handover ceremony at a military academy outside Kabul June 18, 2013. Reuters/Omar Sobhani
KABUL: Afghanistan on Wednesday suspended talks with the US on a deal that would allow US troops to remain in the country after 2014, officials said, in a clash over proposed talks with the Taliban.
"There is a contradiction between what the US government says and what it does regarding Afghanistan peace talks," Aimal Faizi, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, told AFP.
"The president suspended the BSA (Bilateral Security Agreement) talks with the US this morning."
The row centred on the Taliban office, which opened in Qatar on Tuesday, using the title "Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan", the formal name of the Taliban government from 1996 until they were toppled in 2001.
"The president is not happy with the name of the office. We oppose the title the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' because such a thing doesn't exist," Faizi said. "The US was aware of the president's stance."
President Barack Obama had welcomed planned Taliban-US talks in Qatar as an "important first step". But he warned of a bumpy road ahead as NATO troops enter the final stage of a 12-year foreign intervention. (AFP)
