Riyadh, February 01: Afghan government officials and representatives of the Taliban are to hold peace talks in Saudi Arabia, said a Riyadh-based Afghan diplomat on Monday.
“An Afghan government delegation and a Taliban delegation will hold talks in Saudi Arabia,” the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity but he could not give a timing.
The talks in Saudi Arabia will be separate from the U.S.-brokered meetings held in Qatar and will be the first such talks to take place in the Sunni kingdom.
A member of the Taliban’s leadership council, the Pakistan-based Quetta Shura, said on Sunday that “the idea that the Taliban should have a point of contact in Saudi is pushed by the Pakistan and Afghan governments.” The Afghan diplomat, however, said there were no plans for a third party to attend the negotiations in Saudi Arabia.
–Agencies