U.S. undertakes closing Taliban office in Qatar

Almaty. October 2. Silkroadnews – The U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is working out a plan to close Taliban mission office in Qatar’s capital Doha, the Afghan Telegraph Agency (AfTAG) reports with reference to The Wall Street Journal’s publication on Sunday.
According to the agency sources, among both the former and current officials, “Trump’s administration considers a plan to close the political office of the Taliban in Qatar.” Such a move, as reported, has caused “objections from officials in the State Department, who say the initiative could damage the U.S. interests in Afghanistan.”
In particular, on September 29 some representatives of the U.S. foreign affairs department specializing in South Asia called to the administration’s officials urging them to refrain from closing the Taliban’s office and boost the talks with Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan, TASS notes.
The publication quotes Heather Nauert, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, saying that Trump’s office will continue its efforts to end the war in Afghanistan. No doubts the U.S. makes efforts to support the settlement process, she stressed, adding there are doubts about the Taliban’s intention to take this seriously.
Taliban office i0n Doha was opened in 2013 supported by the authorities of the United States, Afghanistan and Qatar. It was assumed it would contribute to facilitate the negotiation process and contribute to conflict settlement in Afghanistan. As the agency notes, the hopes did not come true having disappointed Washington.
According to the officials, the report reads, the administration considers possibility of closing Taliban office in Qatar in attempt to put additional pressure on the organization. The move will have to be supported by the Afghan authorities, who discussed this initiative with the U.S. officials. Earlier the Taliban said closing its Doha office would make it impossible to reach a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, and responsibility for this would lie with the United States and its allies.