Mike Pompeo meets Afghan gov’t, Taliban negotiators in Doha

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with negotiators from both the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, the capital of Qatar Saturday.

It comes as the negotiations between the Afghan negotiating team and the Taliban started in September, but the two sides yet to reach a consensus over a framework to move the talks forward.

Peace talks team member Abdul Hafiz Mansoor told Ariana News that US Secretary met with the Afghan delegates to discuss the Afghan peace process.

Mansoor did not provide details about this meeting.

Meanwhile, the Taliban political spokesman Mohammad Naeem stated in a tweet that Mike Pompeo met with the Taliban’s delegation led by the group’s head of political office Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar

“During the meeting, the importance of the agreement signed between the two sides and commitment to it were discussed. Likewise, the removal from Blacklist, the liberation of remaining prisoners, and the topics related to Intra-Afghan negotiations were talked about,” Naeem tweeted.

This comes as the US wants to speed up the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. The Pentagon said earlier this week it plans to reduce troop levels from about 4,500 to 2,500 by January.