US Chief of Staff meets Taliban representatives in Qatar and calls for a reduction in violence

The US military said on Thursday that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met with representatives of the Taliban this week in Qatar, urging them to reduce the level of violence and work towards a political solution in Afghanistan.

The meeting with General Mark Milley comes as Afghan government and Taliban negotiators take a break until Jan 5 when they continue to work on the agenda.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Milley also met Taliban officials in June, but that meeting was not made public at the time.

It is believed that this is the first time that the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has met with representatives of the Taliban. 

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the most senior US military official in Afghanistan had held such meetings before.

A US military statement said, “The Chief of Staff discussed the need to immediately reduce violence and accelerate progress towards a political solution through negotiations that would contribute to achieving regional stability and protect American national interests”.

Milley also met during his tour with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul.

US President Donald Trump will reduce the number of US forces in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 by mid-January, but has fallen short of threatening to withdraw troops entirely from America’s longest war after strong opposition from his allies at home and abroad.

The violence has increased recently, undermining the best hope for an end to the war that has wreaked havoc in Afghanistan since 2001.