Will not overlook India's concerns on talks with Taliban, assures US

The US Monday assured India that its proposed talks with the Taliban would be an "Afghan-led" process and none of New Delhi's concerns "would be overlooked".

Addressing a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid at the Hyderabad House here, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the US would "consult very closely with India and with others in the region" on Afghan peace talks.

To a question on the issue, Khurshid said the Afghanistan issue is a matter both sides "take with urgency and great significance.. We need to be on the same page and share with each other".

While terming the proposed US-Taliban peace talks "an experiment being done" to find alternative way to peace in Afghanistan, Khurshid said that the issue is of "concern" to India.

He said that Kerry had assured that "as we proceed, hopefully the matter will proceed and none of the concerns of India will be overlooked".

Kerry said they would proceed with the talks only if it is an Afghan-led process and the negotiations would be led by the Afghan High Peace Council. The conditions laid down by the US are that the Taliban have to disassociate from the Al Qaeda, and that the rights of minorities and women should be respected.

"That is not going to change," he said.

On Sunday, during a talk here, Kerry had spoken on similar lines and said the Taliban have to agree to abide by the Afghan constitution for them to come to the peace talks.

He said that James Dobbins, the new special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who is to lead the US side in the talks, would be in India on Wednesday.

"We will consult very closely with India and with others in the region. ..We are working very closely with Karzai..," he said.

Kerry added that "it is better to explore the possibilities of peaceful resolution, but it would ultimately be decided by the Afghan people".

India has said earlier that it has "reservations" about the Taliban and it would support "an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" peace initiative.

Kerry and Khurshid were speaking after holding the fourth round of India-US Strategic Dialogue.

Kerry is here on a three-day visit.