Afghanistan has no response from Taliban on offer to launch talks – adviser

The Afghan government has not received a response from the Taliban movement on a proposal to launch a direct dialogue, the president’s adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar told TASS on Wednesday. “We have not yet received the answer, but expect that it will be positive,” he said. “We hope that the response will be given soon.” He said that the choice of a venue is a secondary matter, when asked if the talks may be held in the framework of the Moscow consultations on Afghanistan. President Ashraf Ghani in his statement at the opening of the second international conference, the Kabul Process, late February called for a dialogue with the Taliban, proposing talks without any preconditions. He also declared readiness to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate political force and to open its official mission in Kabul.