US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. Austin Scott Miller, the commander of the NATO-led mission in the country, met with senior Taliban members and negotiators, including the movement's co-founder, in Qatar's Doha on Monday, Taliban Spokesman Suhail Shaheen said, adding that another meeting was planned to be held later on Tuesday
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2020) US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. Austin Scott Miller, the commander of the NATO-led mission in the country, met with senior Taliban members and negotiators, including the movement's co-founder, in Qatar's Doha on Monday, Taliban Spokesman Suhail Shaheen said, adding that another meeting was planned to be held later on Tuesday.
According to the spokesman, the two US officials held talks with Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar, the co-founder of the Afghan movement, who is also known as Mullah Brother Akhund; Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's chief negotiator; and another senior negotiator Amir Khan Muttaqi.
"Yesterday, Mr. Mullah Brother Akhund, Mr. Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai and Mr. Amir Khan Muttaqi met with Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad and General Scott Miller in Doha and discussed further steps. Both teams are expected to have a joint meeting today," Shaheen tweeted on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Shaheen told Pakistani newspaper Dawn that the US was set to sign a peace deal with the Taliban in January. He also said that the sides had already agreed to reduce "military operations."
Since 2018, Washington and the Taliban have been attempting to negotiate a peace deal that would ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops in exchange for the movement's guarantee that the country would not become a safe haven for terrorists.
Last September, US President Donald Trump called off the talks with the group after a US service member was killed in an attack in Afghanistan. However, the president announced the resumption of the negotiations in late November during his visit to the Asian country.
