The prospect of a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan is closer than it has ever been. But Afghanistan's own government finds itself looking in from the outside.
The U.S. envoy seeking a peace deal with the Taliban to end nearly 18 years of war in Afghanistan has returned to Kabul ahead of a new round of talks.
The author and academic Barnett Rubin believes that Afghanistan and the United States will weather this current low in relations after disagreements over how to talk with the Taliban insurgents.
A senior Afghan official accused the U.S. special envoy to his country, Zalmay Khalilzad, of “delegitimizing" the Kabul government by excluding it from peace negotiations with the Taliban and acting like a “viceroy.”
The longest round of peace talks between the United States and the Taliban has ended with "real strides" being made but without an agreement on troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on March 12.
The Taliban is using peace talks with the United States for "propaganda purposes,” Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah told RFE/RL, urging Washington to keep troops in the country until a formal settlement that includes Kabul has been signed with the militants.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for immediate talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, saying peace can only be reached through "comprehensive intra-Afghan dialogue."
The U.S. envoy who is meeting with Afghan Taliban delegates says the latest round of peace talks in Qatar have been put on hold until March 2 so that both sides can conduct "internal deliberations."
U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has met with one of the Afghan Taliban's co-founders in Qatar as efforts intensify to find a negotiated solution to Afghanistan's 17-year war.
The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan has called on the Afghan government to create a "unified, inclusive, and national negotiating team" to join in peace talks with Taliban negotiators.
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