Taliban rejects negotiations in Saudi Arabia

SANAA, Dec. 30 (YPA) – A senior Taliban official said on Sunday that the movement had rejected a proposal from the Afghan government for talks next month in Saudi Arabia, where representatives of the movement will meet with US officials to “promote peace efforts.”

Representatives from the Taliban, the United States and other countries met in the region this month in the United Arab Emirates for talks aimed at ending the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

But the Taliban have refused to hold official talks with the Western-backed Afghan government.

Reuters quoted a member of the Taliban leadership council, who is making the decisions, as saying “We will meet with US officials in Saudi Arabia in January next year and we will start our unfinished talks in Abu Dhabi, but we have made it clear to all concerned that we will not hold talks with the Afghan government.”