talks

Top US general presses Taliban to end violence in rare meeting

Washington (AFP) - The top US military officer has pressed Afghanistan's Taliban to reduce violence in a rare meeting as outgoing President Donald Trump seeks to hasten the end of the nearly 20-year war. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met separately with Taliban representatives in Qatar and with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul. It was only the second time the top US general met with the Taliban, whom the US military had tried unsuccessfully to destroy in battle, although Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also met the Islamist militants in Qatar. In his ...

Top US general meets Taliban, Afghan leader ahead of pullout

Washington (AFP) - The top US military officer met separately this week with the Taliban and Afghanistan's president to push for a negotiated solution as the United States pulls out, the Pentagon said Thursday. Meeting the Taliban in Qatar, General Mark Milley "discussed the need for an immediate reduction of violence and (to) accelerate progress towards a negotiated political solution which contributes to regional stability and safeguards US national interests," spokeswoman Commander Sarah Flaherty said. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was meeting for the second time with Talib...

Pompeo, Afghan negotiators converge on Qatar for peace talks

Doha (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Afghan government negotiators arrived in Doha Friday ahead of what promise to be lengthy and difficult peace talks with the Taliban after 19 years of war.Afghan negotiations set to begin Saturday were originally scheduled for March but were repeatedly pushed back amid disputes over a prisoner exchange that included the release of hundreds of battle-hardened Taliban fighters."I hope this is a historic day and the beginning of a big change," said Abdullah Abdullah, an Afghan former minister who is leading the peace negotiations, as he left for D...