Monday, December 26, 2011

Exclusive: Afghan-Taliban Peace Talks to Begin; Afghanistan, Taliban, US to Hold Talks in Qatar

In an exclusive report today (December 26, 2011), the Reuters website states that Afghanistan will accept a Taliban liaison office in Qatar to start peace talks -- but no foreign power can get involved in the process without its consent -- the government's peace council said, in an effort to find a solution to the decade-long Afghanistan war.

Afghanistan's High Peace Council -- in a note to foreign missions -- has set up ground rules for engaging the Taliban, and the U.S. has secretly agreed to open an office in the Qatari capital, Doha.

U.S. officials have held about half a dozen secret meetings with their insurgent contacts, with representatives of Mullah Omar -- leader of the Taliban's Quetta Shura -- this year to prepare the way for face-to-face talks between the group and the Afghan government.

A representative office for the group is considered the starting point for such talks, and Doha has in the past served as a meeting ground for initial contacts.

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