The Doha peace negotiations between the United States and the Taliban have been paused for two days “for internal deliberations,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Special Representative heading the US delegation, announced on Thursday. Khalilzad stated that both sides “continue to take slow, steady steps toward understanding and eventually [peace].”
The Taliban released a statement mentioning that the negotiations had focused on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, among other topics. In a separate statement, a member of the group said that the negotiations had been “good and they are heading in the right direction.”
The Taliban has consistently refused to negotiate with the government of Afghanistan. Earlier on Wednesday, a former Taliban official claimed that while he and the Taliban “are all positive about peace and very serious,” Afghanistan’s government “doesn’t want peace” because “[t]hey are still targeting civilian areas while claiming to have targeted Taliban hideouts.”
Read more: U.S., Taliban Pause Peace Talks In Doha For Two Days
