Taliban to discuss Afghan peace after US talks collapse

A Taliban delegation has met Chinese officials in Beijing to discuss peace efforts in Afghanistan.

The meeting on Sunday came two weeks after US President Donald Trump abruptly cancelled months-long talks between US officials and the armed group, which controls large parts of Afghanistan.

These negotiations, which began in October 2018 in Qatar’s capital, Doha, were aimed at ending Afghanistan’s 18-year-old war.

On Monday, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said the Taliban delegation and ministry officials exchanged views on the “process of advancing peace in Afghanistan”, without giving further details.

Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman in Qatar, said in a tweet that the group’s nine-member delegation, led by cofounder Mullah Baradar, travelled to Beijing and met Deng Xijun, China’s special representative for Afghanistan.

Zainab Sa’id