Earlier in the day, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen announced that the movement's negotiating teams and the Afghan government had met on Tuesday to discuss accelerating the negotiations.
"HE Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution Dr. Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani met Wednesday with the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and his accompanying delegation, during his current visit to the country," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the sides discussed the ongoing peace process and the Doha talks.
Qahtani also reviewed the state of the Afghan peace process during his meeting with the Taliban official.
"HE Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar for Counterterrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution Dr. Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani met today with chief of Taliban's negotiation team Sheikh Abdul Hakim Sheikh, and members of the negotiation team," the ministry stated.
The peace negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban began in the Qatari capital back in September. In early December, Kabul and the Taliban announced that they had agreed on the framework of the talks, allowing for discussions to now be held on substantive issues. Little progress, however, has been made since then.