US denies Talks with Taliban in Qatar

Following report from many different sources, the White House denied reports that U.S. officials planned to meet with the Taliban.

US state department spokesman, Jen Psaki said that The United States currently has no meetings with the Taliban scheduled in Doha.

“We believe that the regional countries have important role in this process” said Jen Psaki, a spokesman for US state department. “We called on Pakistan and China to support President Ghani’s efforts for peace talks.”

“The United States remains supportive of an Afghan-led reconciliation process whereby the Taliban and the Afghans engage in talks toward a settlement to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan.” Psaki added.

Meanwhile, Taliban Spokesman, Zabiullah Mujaheed commented in a statement that they do not have any plans for negotiations with anyone in Qatar. Regarding the negotiations, there is no new change in the policy of Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan.

The denials came after a member of Taliban group who lives in Qatar told to western media outlets that America and Taliban group started the first round of talks.

There have been several attempts at starting dialogue in recent years between the Taliban, Kabul and the United States — the Afghan government’s chief supporter — but with little success.