Saturday, April 1, 2023
  • About us
    • Write for us
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms of use
    • Privacy Policy
  • RSS Feeds
  • Advertise with us
  • Contact us
DefenceTalk
  • Home
  • Defense News
    • Defense & Geopolitics News
    • War Conflicts News
    • Army News
    • Air Force News
    • Navy News
    • Missiles Systems News
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Defense Technology
    • Cybersecurity News
  • Military Photos
  • Defense Forum
  • Military Videos
  • Military Weapon Systems
    • Weapon Systems
    • Reports
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Defense News
    • Defense & Geopolitics News
    • War Conflicts News
    • Army News
    • Air Force News
    • Navy News
    • Missiles Systems News
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Defense Technology
    • Cybersecurity News
  • Military Photos
  • Defense Forum
  • Military Videos
  • Military Weapon Systems
    • Weapon Systems
    • Reports
No Result
View All Result
DefenceTalk
No Result
View All Result

US still hopes for Taliban talks: envoy

by Agence France-Presse
September 17, 2013
in Defense Geopolitics News
2 min read
0
US, Pakistan capture Taliban’s top commander: report
14
VIEWS

A US envoy said Monday that Washington still hoped to talk directly with the Taliban to support an Afghan peace deal but that the militants seemed unwilling to do so.

The Taliban opened an office in the Qatari capital Doha in June aimed at talking to the United States ahead of next year’s withdrawal of most American troops, but diplomacy collapsed before it even began.

“We would still like to see that dialogue initiated, a dialogue that would involve the US and Taliban directly but would also involve the Afghan government or its High Peace Council,” said James Dobbins, the US special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“We’re not giving up hope. We continue to hope that there will be a positive development at some point, but we can’t predict when,” Dobbins, who was expected to lead the US side at talks, told reporters in Washington.

“The Taliban are now, as a practical matter, unwilling to engage with the United States, with the Afghans, with anybody,” he said.

The Taliban office in Doha styled itself as an embassy of a government-in-exile from the Islamists’ 1996-2001 reign, angering Afghan President Hamid Karzai who briefly pulled out of separate talks with the United States on a post-2014 security agreement.

In turn, the Taliban refused to talk to Karzai, calling him a US puppet, even though the United States had hoped for the Afghan government to play the main role in talks with the Taliban.

Dobbins blamed a “genuine misunderstanding” over the role of the office.

President Barack Obama has promised the war-weary US public to pull combat troops out of Afghanistan next year, ending the longest US war that was launched after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The United States has set a goal of concluding the security agreement with the Afghan government next month.

Separately, Dobbins voiced optimism at potential cooperation on Afghanistan between the United States and Iran, which have no diplomatic relations and are at loggerheads over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

“If we are able to make real progress on the nuclear agenda, then the opportunities for progress on these other issues (are) definitely there,” Dobbins said.

“I think, objectively, Iran and American interests are, if not coincident, at least overlap significantly. Iran has historically wanted a stable, peaceful Afghanistan,” he said.

Dobbins said that Iran opposed the Taliban and had interests in reducing drug trafficking from Afghanistan as well as allowing refugees to return.

Dobbins spoke highly of the role of Iranian envoy Mohammad Javad Zarif during talks on Afghanistan’s future in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The US-educated Zarif was appointed foreign minister by newly elected President Hassan Rowhani, a reputed moderate.

Dobbins spearheaded the Bonn conference that set up Afghanistan’s post-Taliban government. While out of government, he supported calls for greater US outreach to Iran.

Tags: afghanistanpeacetalibanwar
Previous Post

No Syrian Scenario at Zapad-2013 Drills – Russia

Next Post

Russia to Resume Bulava Missile Tests by Year End

Related Posts

Leopard tanks to arrive in Ukraine around late March: Germany

Germany delivers Leopard tanks to Ukraine

March 28, 2023

Germany has delivered promised Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, providing Kyiv with much-needed heavy...

Urban warfare ‘nightmare’ looms if Russia enters Ukraine cities

NATO rejects Russian complaints on UK uranium ammo

March 24, 2023

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday dismissed Russian complaints about Britain's announcement that it will send Ukraine ammunition containing depleted...

Next Post
US not linked to failed Bulava launches

Russia to Resume Bulava Missile Tests by Year End

Latest Defense News

Russia says fired anti-ship missiles at mock target in Sea of Japan

Russia says fired anti-ship missiles at mock target in Sea of Japan

March 28, 2023
Lockheed Developing Long Range Maneuverable Fires Missile For US Army

Lockheed Developing Long Range Maneuverable Fires Missile For US Army

March 28, 2023
Leopard tanks to arrive in Ukraine around late March: Germany

Germany delivers Leopard tanks to Ukraine

March 28, 2023
EU warns Belarus opening door to Russian nukes after vote

Kremlin says won’t change plans on Belarus nuclear weapons

March 28, 2023
Ahead of talks, North Korea says fired ‘new’ sub-launched missile

North Korea says it tested new underwater nuclear attack ‘drone’

March 24, 2023
China Naval Modernization: Implications for US Navy

Chinese military says ‘warned’ US warship to leave S. China Sea

March 24, 2023

Defense Forum Discussions

  • AUKUS
  • Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) News and Discussions
  • IAF Mirage 2000's joins NATO exercise
  • General Naval News
  • Royal New Zealand Air Force
  • Royal Australian Navy Discussions and Updates 2.0
  • Hypersonic Developments
  • Russia and the West
  • NZDF General discussion thread
  • Indo Pacific strategy
DefenceTalk

© 2003-2020 DefenceTalk.com

Navigate Site

  • Defence Forum
  • Military Photos
  • RSS Feeds
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Contact us

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Defense News
    • Defense & Geopolitics News
    • War Conflicts News
    • Army News
    • Air Force News
    • Navy News
    • Missiles Systems News
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Defense Technology
    • Cybersecurity News
  • Military Photos
  • Defense Forum
  • Military Videos
  • Military Weapon Systems
    • Weapon Systems
    • Reports

© 2003-2020 DefenceTalk.com