Saudi Arabia Hosts Taliban Peace Talks

Via Press TV (Iran) -

Saudi Arabia has hosted groundbreaking peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban representatives in Mecca, sources reveal.

A CNN report said Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah broke fast for the Eid al-Fitr holiday with a 17-member Afghan delegation in a show of commitment to ending the conflict in Afghanistan.

The Mecca talks, held sometime between 24th and 27th of September, included 11 Taliban delegates, two Afghan government officials, a representative of former mujahedin commander Gulbadin Hekmatyar, and three others, the report said.

The elusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar did not take part in the meeting but it was announced that he made it clear that he was no longer an ally of al-Qaeda, a source close to the talks said on Monday.

According to the report, during the "ice-breaking" meeting, Taliban and Afghan government officials outlined their positions and objectives openly.

The source said all parties agreed that problems in Afghanistan should be addressed through dialogue and not fighting. It is expected that further talks will be held in Saudi Arabia.

The revelation follows Afghan President Hamid Karzai's announcement last week that he had requested King Abdullah to act as an intermediary between his government and the Taliban but that negotiations had not yet begun.

"The preparation for negotiations is going on a daily basis. Our envoys traveled many times to Saudi Arabia and to Pakistan, but the discussions have not started yet. We hope that it happens soon."

Saudi Arabia has in the past acted as a mediator between the Taliban and the Pakistani government. The Arab State was one of only three countries that recognized the Taliban government in Kabul after 1996.

This week marks the seventh anniversary of the so-called war on terror in Afghanistan, but the US-led mission appears fractured and confused, and for the first time in July, more US soldiers were killed in the Afghan conflict than in Iraq.

The Commander of British Forces in the country said Sunday that the war cannot be won, and that the best chance of peace is a political solution that includes the Taliban.