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UN: Direct Talks Needed Between Afghan Government, Taliban

Margaret Besheer

   UNITED NATIONS - As negotiations between the U.S. and Taliban collapsed
   this week, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan called Tuesday for
   direct intra-Afghan talks to resolve the country's nearly two-decade
   old conflict.

   "Conflict can only be resolved by direct talks between the Afghan
   people," U.N. envoy to Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto told a meeting of
   the Security Council. "It is imperative, therefore, that direct talks
   between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban commence as
   soon as possible."

   Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump called off peace
   negotiations with the Taliban that his special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad
   had been carrying on for almost a year, after the Taliban killed 12
   people, including a U.S. soldier, in an attack in the capital, Kabul.

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