Direct Negotiations to be Held After U.S.-Taliban Agreement: Khalilzad

The U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khazlad said Sunday that the direct negotiation between Afghan delegates and the Taliban will happen after the U.S. “concludes its own agreements” with the Taliban.

The State Minister for Peace Affairs, Salaam Rahimi said in a statement on Saturday that the direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are supposed to begin in two weeks in one of the European countries.

The consultations for forming a 15-member delegation for the upcoming talks have begun and the ministry is working to finalize the delegation, Rahimi added.

Hours after Rahimi’s statement, Khalilzad in a tweet clarified that the intra-Afghan talks will occur after the United States “concludes its own agreements” with the Taliban.

“They (negotiations) will take place between the Taliban and an inclusive and effective national negotiating team consisting of senior government officials, key political party representatives, civil society and women,” Khalilzad tweeted.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid said in a tweet on Sunday that the intra-Afghan talks will be held among all political parties and that the Afghan government will attend as a participant, not as the other side of the negotiation.

The intra-Afghan talks would occur after the announcement of a timeline for the U.S. troops pullout from Afghanistan.