Washington: The White House said yesterday there are no meetings planned in Qatar between US and Taliban officials to discuss possible peace talks on Afghanistan, as Taliban sources had indicated.
“The US currently has no meetings with the Taliban scheduled in Doha,” National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said.
“We remain supportive of an Afghan-led reconciliation process whereby the Taliban and the Afghans engage in talks towards a settlement to resolve the conflict.”
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki added: “We are not in direct talks with the Taliban, and there have not been any direct talks between the US and the Taliban since January 2012 when the Taliban broke them off.”
Taliban sources earlier said five former members of the supreme council of the Afghan Taliban would meet soon US officials in Qatar. The sources gave conflicting accounts of when the meetings might begin, with one suggesting as early as yesterday and another saying it would more likely be in the coming week.
The Taliban’s main spokesman also denied any talks were in the works. AFP
