US Army Chief of Staff Makes Surprise Stop in Kabul
The US Army's chief of staff made a surprise visit to the capital Kabul where he met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss prospects for a peaceful end to the country's 17-year war, the United States' longest.
Kabul, Jan 3 (AP) The US Army's chief of staff made a surprise visit to the capital Kabul where he met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss prospects for a peaceful end to the country's 17-year war, the United States' longest.
In a statement late Thursday, Ghani's office said Gen. Mike A. Milley supported Afghan-led talks with the Taliban, although the burden of getting the two sides to the table seems to have fallen to Washington's newly appointed peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.
Khalilzad has met several times with Taliban insurgents since his appointment in September.
They have consistently refused direct talks with Ghani's representatives calling the Kabul government U.S. puppets.
Another round of U.S.-Taliban talks are reportedly scheduled for later this month in Doha, Qatar, where the insurgents maintain a political office. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)