While Afghan officials say they expect direct talks with the Taliban to
start within two weeks, the Taliban was quick to say that this isn’t
going to happen. Taliban officials say they have no intention of any direct talks yet.
This appears to be a bargaining position on their talks with the US, as Taliban officials say that there will be no talks with the Afghan government until the US agrees to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
The four-stage US-Taliban peace plan had a direct power-sharing deal
with the Afghan government as one of the terms to be reached, and while
the Taliban was open to such talks before, they now seem to want to
secure the US pullout part first.
Afghan President Ghani appeared to object to the US talks anyhow, saying that only his government can have the authority to reach deals with the Taliban, suggesting he is unhappy being cut out of the talks.
While the US has given lip-service to Ghani being involved, they’ve also
never let it be an obstacle to talks with the Taliban, and intend to
ultimately reach a deal with the Taliban either way.
Taliban: No Talks With Afghan Govt Until US Agrees to Withdraw Troops
Ghani suggests US doesn't have authority to negotiate with the Taliban
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
