Stressing the Taliban objection to third-party mediation, a Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Naeem Wardak, said the hosting country, if needed, “can share its views and advice individually” with the negotiators from the two conflicting sides, without mediating and/or participating in the talks.
Qatar, too, will not participate in the negotiations, said the spokesman, adding only the negotiators from the sides are authorized to make decisions.
Afghan and Taliban negotiators have been meeting in Doha since September 12 and are still working out on procedures and related issues for the intra-Afghan talks aimed at ending Afghanistan’s longest war.
The long-awaited intra-Afghan talks aimed at ending nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan. They were first scheduled to begin on March 10, but were repeatedly delayed due to the disagreements over the controversial prisoner swap process.
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