US will Not Have Direct Talks with Taliban – says Gen. Nicholson
The NATO general commander John Nicholson rejected the US preparations for direct talks with Taliban in a statement.
The NATO general commander John Nicholson rejected the US preparations for direct talks with Taliban in a statement.
Earlier, it was reported that general John Nicholson said that the US is ready for negotiations with Taliban during talks with Kabul officials in southern Kandahar province. But Nicholson rejected that in a statement on Monday, saying that his statements were mischaracterized and that he only reflected the stance of US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
US secretary of state Pompeo had said June that the White House is ready to support, facilitate and participate in final peace negotiations with Taliban.
However, a spokesman for the NATO forces in Afghanistan said that America is reviewing all ways to improve the peace process.
New York Times has recently reported that Donald Trump has ordered the senior American diplomats to seek direct talks with the Taliban.
The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has visited Kabul a week ago and the US State Department South and Central Asia Assistant Secretary Alice Wells has been interviewing officials in Afghanistan and Pakistan for several days.
