The UN envoy to Afghanistan met delegates from one of the country's main insurgent groups in Kabul on Thursday, the first Western diplomat to meet them since they arrived in the capital for peace talks with the government. Staffan de Mistura, the UN's new chief representative in Afghanistan, met a delegation from Hezb-i-Islami at a hotel in Kabul, the mission said.
Hezb-i-Islami is one of three insurgent factions fighting against foreign troops in Afghanistan. "(De Mistura) listened to their points and indicated that their visit in Kabul and the ongoing discussions with Afghan authorities further underscored the importance of Afghan-led dialogue in order to bring stability to this country," a statement from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said.
A spokesman for de Mistura declined to give any further details about what was discussed with Hezb-i-Islami. It is the first known meeting between a Western official and the group since they arrived in Kabul, and comes weeks before President Hamid Karzai plans a peace "jirga" - or council of elders - to which the Taliban have been invited.
On Wednesday, Hezb-i-Islami negotiator Mohammad Daoud Abedi told Reuters its leadership was ready to make peace and act as a "bridge" to the Taliban if Washington fulfils plans to start pulling out troops next year. Abedi said the decision to present a peace plan was a direct response to a speech by US.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday the timing was still not right for reconciliation with senior Afghan Taliban leaders, acknowledging military pressure had yet to weaken the group enough. "The shift of momentum is not yet strong enough to convince the Taliban leaders that they are in fact going to lose," Gates told lawmakers during a congressional hearing.
"And it's when they begin to have doubts whether they can be successful that they may be willing to make a deal. I don't think we're there yet," he said. US officials have repeatedly said an American withdrawal will be gradual, at a speed that will depend on conditions on the ground and on Afghanistan's ability to provide for its own security.
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