Taliban office may be closed if talks fail: Kerry

KABUL new office in Qatar may have to be closed if negotiation efforts failed, warned US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, adding he did not know whether it was possible to get talks with the insurgents back on track after this week’s delays.

“We need to see if we can get back on track … I don’t know whether that’s possible or not,” Kerry told a news conference in Qatar.

US officials had been set to open talks with Taliban representatives on Thursday but Afghan government anger at the fanfare surrounding the opening of the Taliban office in the Gulf state threw preparations into confusion.

“If there is not a decision … to move forward by the Taliban in short order, then we may have to consider whether or not the office has to be closed,” he added.

The opening of the Taliban office was a practical step paving the way for peace talks to end Afghanistan‘s 12-year-old war.

PAN Monitor/ma

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