KABUL - U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to meet Afghanistan’s president to discuss ways of resuming peace talks, Afghan government officials said, after negotiations with the Taliban collapsed in September.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to U.S. forces at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan last week and met President Ashraf Ghani, raising hopes of progress toward an elusive peace deal with the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency against the Kabul administration since being toppled from power in 2001.
However, the chances of successful negotiations are still in doubt given the Taliban’s refusal to engage with what they call Ghani’s “illegitimate puppet regime”.
The Afghan government says it is ready for the revival of the talks, but only if it is given a seat at the table and the Taliban agrees to a ceasefire.
“The U.S. and Afghan presidents agreed on the resumption of peace negotiations but with close participation and coordination with the Afghan government,” a senior Afghan official said. (Reuters)