Those efforts culminated in an unprecedented six days of talks between the US and the Taliban in Doha in January. Amrullah Saleh, a Ghani ally, accused those Afghan leaders travelling to Moscow for the Taliban talks - including former president Hamid Karzai - of "begging to terrorists." "We appreciate the efforts, but any peace talks about Afghanistan should be under the umbrella of the Afghan government," Afghanistan's de facto prime minister Abdullah Abdullah said after the Doha talks. The talks in Moscow would see an "opening of channels to reaching an understanding" with Afghan leaders outside government, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Such a meeting between the Taliban and Afghan politicians - including Karzai, who was appointed by the US - is almost unheard of.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 05, 2019 15:56 UTC