Karzai: U.S. Holding Talks with Taliban

The United States is holding talks with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Saturday, in what is thought to be the first official confirmation of such contacts.

"Talks with the Taliban have started... the talks are going on well," Karzai said, addressing a conference in Kabul.

"Also foreign forces, especially the United States, are carrying out the talks themselves."

The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan is in its 10th year and there are increasing calls for a political settlement to the conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this year called on Taliban members to split from al-Qaida, renounce violence and accept the constitution so they can be reconciled to society.

The U.S. embassy in Kabul did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Karzai's remarks.

Western officials in Kabul stress that attempts to set up contacts with the Taliban are at a very early stage and that efforts are still being made to achieve a communication channel with the Taliban's leadership.

Karzai said the current year was the most important and vital for the country. He insisted that decisions made this year would be a make or break for decades to come.

Karzai emphasized the highlights of the political process under way in 2011 and said the transition of security to Afghan forces, peace talks with the Taliban, signing a strategic partnership with U.S. and the upcoming December Bonn conference on Afghanistan were the most important.

The president said his recent visit to Pakistan along with members of the Afghan High Council for Peace was crucial.

"The talks took place in a very brotherly, friendly atmosphere," he said, adding that he hoped optimism over Pakistani cooperation to help Kabul cut a peace deal with the militants would become a reality.

Karzai last year set up the peace council featuring senior Afghan figures in a bid to pursue talks with the Taliban in return for them laying down their arms and accepting the constitution.

The Afghan government and the international community have set a number of pre-conditions for talks.

They include that the Taliban accept the Afghan constitution, respect the values of democracy, renounce violence and break ties with their al-Qaida backers.

These pre-conditions have been rejected in public by the militants, who are leading a bloody insurgency against foreign troops and Afghan forces.