Taliban official says group spoke with US official

The Taliban held their first direct contact with a US official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior official with the insurgent group said today.

It marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country's protracted war.

The official described as "useful" a meeting with Alice Wells, the US's top diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week. He said the meeting was held in the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office since 2013.

"The environment was positive and the discussion was useful," the Taliban official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

US officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place. However, Wells was in Doha, the Qatar capital, this week.

In a statement following her return, the State Department said only that Wells had been in Doha, had met with the ruling family and "the United States is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government."
In Kabul today, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, deputy spokesman for Ghani, repeated the government's oft-stated position that peace talks should be "Afghan owned and Afghan led, any assistance the allies provide (would be in) a supportive role."