"Lot of chatter in Kabul about intra-Afghan negotiations. To clarify, those negotiations will occur after we [the United States] conclude our own agreements and they will take place between the Taliban and an inclusive and effective national negotiating team consisting of senior government officials, key political party representatives, civil society and women," Khalilzad tweeted.
On Saturday, the newly appointed Afghan Minister for Peace Abdul Salam Rahimi said that the first-ever meeting of the country's government with the Taliban will start within two weeks in a European capital.
Earlier in the day, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree dissolving the country's High Peace Council, established back in 2010 by former leader Hamid Karzai as a special group to hold talks with the Taliban movement. The authorities of the council have been transferred to the newly established State Ministry of Peace Affairs.
