An international peace council brought together an Afghan delegation and representatives of the Taliban militant group in Qatar to end the war in Afghanistan, Sputnik wrote.
An eight-member Taliban delegation and some Afghan officials were attending a two-day regional conference that began Saturday in Qatar, offering a possible forum for informal talks between the two warring parties.
Qatar on Saturday said it is hosting an “open discussion” between members of the Taliban and influential Afghans on the topic of reconciliation with the goal of facilitating peace, according to the official Qatar News Agency.
It is far from clear, however, whether the meetings in Qatar will lead to formal peace negotiations: Representatives of both the Taliban and the Kabul government described it as an opportunity to participate in an open discussion, rather than to negotiate peace.
Ahead of the conference, the Taliban said in a statement that eight members of its political commission would attend “in order to personally deliver the message of its oppressed nation and other such issues to the world.”
