U.S. officials say they will sit down with the Taliban “within days” to begin the “first step on a long road” toward ending the 12-year-old war in Afghanistan.
The announcement came as the Taliban opened their first office on June 18 in Doha and announced its willingness to open peace talks with the Afghan government. Negotiations over the opening of the office lasted more than two years.
The development marks the first significant step in reaching a peace settlement to the armed conflict between Kabul and the insurgent group.
At a ceremony in Kabul earlier to mark the U.S. handover of security control to Afghan forces, President Hamid Karzai said he planned to send a team to Qatar to “discuss peace talks” with Taliban leaders.