US envoy meets with Taliban officials: report
The top US envoy for South Asia has met with Taliban officials for peace talks in Qatar, the Wall Street Journal street reported today.
Alice Wells, the senior official for the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asia Affairs, met with the Taliban this week to try to find a new path toward ending Afghanistan's 17-year conflict, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The State Department did not directly confirm the report, but noted Wells had been in Doha this week, where she met with Qatari government officials "to discuss recent progress towards an Afghan-owned, and Afghan-led peace process."
Officials noted they did not have any other meetings to describe "at this time" and said the US "is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government."
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