The Afghan government and Taliban negotiators held their first direct meeting on Tuesday and agreed upon “major parts of rules and procedures,” said Nader Naderi, a member of the government negotiating team.
“The meeting of both negotiating teams with full members took place today [Tuesday] at 4:30pm,” said the government top negotiator Nadery on Twitter and the Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Naeem Wardak similarly confirmed.
“Heads of delegations reiterated the need for patience and tolerance,” according to negotiating officials, “both sides of the meeting appointed two persons as liaison and contact channel.”
After long delays, the opening talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban began in Doha, capital of Qatar, on Saturday, September 12.
These long-awaited talks aimed at ending nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan were scheduled to begin on March 10, but were repeatedly delayed over due to the disagreements over the controversial prisoner swap process.
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