The US is to open direct peace talks with the Taliban

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, ARMENPRESS: The US is to open direct peace talks with the Taliban, senior White House officials have announced.The first meeting is due to take place in the coming days in Doha, Qatar, where the Taliban have just opened their first official overseas office.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his government was also sending delegates to Qatar to talk to the Taliban, reports “Armenpress” calling BBC. The announcement came on the day Nato handed over security for the whole of Afghanistan to government forces. US officials said prisoner exchanges would be one topic for discussion with the Taliban, but the first weeks will mainly be used to explore each other's agendas. However, the talks are on condition that the Taliban renounce violence, break ties with al-Qaeda and respect the Afghan constitution - including the rights of women and minorities.

US officials told reporters the first formal meeting between US and Taliban representatives was expected to take place in Doha next week, with talks between President Karzai's High Peace Council and the Taliban due a few days after that. The level of trust between the Afghan government and the Taliban is described as "low".

In the past, the Taliban have always refused to meet President Karzai or his government, dismissing them as puppets of Washington. Masoom Stanekzai, secretary of the High Peace Council, would not give a specific date for their talks but said they would take place "within days". He told the BBC it was important that all sides should feel "confident and comfortable" at the beginning of the process. "Eventually the talks should take place on Afghan soil. This is an Afghan issue. No-one other than Afghans can decide," he said.

US officials stressed that this was the first step on a very long road, adding that there was no guarantee of success. On Tuesday, the Taliban issued a statement saying that one of the main aims of their Doha office was "to meet Afghans".

The statement said they would also make contact with UN, regional and international organisations as well as non-governmental institutions.

After opening the "political bureau" in Doha alongside Qatari officials, Taliban representative Mohammed Naeem told reporters the group wanted good relations with Afghanistan's neighbours.

In Afghanistan itself on Tuesday, Nato handed over security for the whole of the country to the government for the first time since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

At a ceremony in Kabul, President Hamid Karzai said that from Wednesday "our own security and military forces will lead all the security activities".

The ceremony saw the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) hand over control of the last 95 districts in a transition process that began in 2011.

International troops are to remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2014, providing military back-up when needed.