US calls on Taliban to consider Ghani peace talk offer

Washington (AFP) - The United States on Monday called on the Taliban to consider an offer for peace talks extended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Ghani at an international conference in Kabul last week unveiled a plan to open talks with the Taliban, including eventually recognizing them as a political party.

In return, Ghani said the militants should officially recognize the Afghan government and constitution, a perennial sticking point in past attempts to open talks.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid has maligned the Kabul Process, tweeting that the conference sought the Taliban's "surrender."

Alice Wells, the principal deputy assistant secretary for the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, told reporters she had been struck by Ghani's proposal.


Source : Yahoo