US Peace To Hold Direct Peace Talks With Taliban

The United States will engage in direct peace negotiations with the
Taliban in Qatar nextweek, aimed at achieving peace in Afghanistan,
senior White House officials have said.
Tuesday's announcement came as the Taliban opened a political office
in the Qatari capital, Doha, to help start talks on ending the
12-year-old conflict, saying it wanted a political solution that
wouldbring about a just governmentand end foreign occupation.
Taliban representative Mohammed Naeem told a news conference at the
office in Doha that the armed groupwanted good relations with
Afghanistan's neighbouring countries.
US President Barack Obama said the opening of the Taliban office was
an important first step toward reconciliation between the Taliban and
Afghanistan's government.
He also praised Afghan President Hamid Karzai for taking a courageous
step by sending representatives to Qatar to discuss peace with the
Taliban.
He warned, however, that the process would be lengthy and insisted
that the Taliban breakties with al-Qaeda and end violence.
A senior representative of the Afghan government confirmedthat talks
were scheduled withthe Taliban and said the progress was made after
secretdiscussions with the group.
"Peace talks will certainly takeplace between the Taliban andthe High
Peace Council," said the senior official, referring tothe body created
by Karzai in 2010 to negotiate peace with the group.
The Taliban has until now saidit would not countenance peace talks
with the Karzai government, which it calls a "stooge" of the United
States and other Western nations.
The peace talks, if they go ahead, could also lead to a reduction in
fighting across Afghanistan, the official said.
"We hope that the attacks carried out by the Taliban in Afghanistan
will reduce while we talk peace; there is no point in talking if the
bombs continue to kill civilians," he said.
The announcement came on the same day that the Taliban opened their
long-delayed office in the Qatari capital.
In a move that may anger theAfghan government, the whiteTaliban flag
was at his side, and a large sign behind him proclaimed the office of
the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan", the name the Taliban used during
their briefnational rule in the 1990s.
Both events may have been timed to coincide with a ceremony on Tuesday
to markthe beginning of the final phase of security transition from
the US-led coalition to the Afghan state.