Direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban movement may start either this year or next year, Ihsan Taheri, the representative of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, told Sputnik, adding that the desire to launch such talks was growing among the members of the Taliban.
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th December, 2018) Direct peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban movement may start either this year or next year, Ihsan Taheri, the representative of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, told Sputnik, adding that the desire to launch such talks was growing among the members of the Taliban.
"We are hopeful that the peace negotiations between the government and Taliban could start very soon, because, according to our sources, the tendency is growing at different levels of the leadership of the Taliban ... tendency for direct talks to start with the government of Afghanistan, tendency for considering peace a major issue ... We are hopeful, either this year or next year, peace negotiations between government and the Taliban directly ... should start," Taheri said.
The representative of the council said that all the major obstacles to the start of the direct talks were removed.
"We don't have any problem left, except the decision to be made by the Taliban leadership to announce their delegation, to announce their readiness for direct talks to happen between the government and themselves ... The major problems, everything is solved now," Taheri said.
The council is willing to help ensure that the talks are held in any place that the Taliban deems secure.
"The HPC [High Peace Council] will facilitate any place, anywhere, the Taliban thinks is safe for them, is secure for them and is good for them to start direct negotiations with the government of Afghanistan, including [within] Afghanistan and out of Afghanistan," he said.
Taheri explained that Kabul was ready to negotiate with the Taliban as it saw the movement as armed opposition, unlike other militant groups active in Afghanistan.
