US envoy doubts Taliban’s desire to end war in Afghanistan

US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad raised doubts on Thursday about the Taliban’s desire to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan, after the militants refused to meet with a Kabul-backed negotiating team. While he was certain the Afghan government wanted to stop the conflict, Khalilzad told Afghan media that he questioned whether the Taliban were “genuinely seeking” peace. “We have to wait and see their forthcoming steps,” Khalilzad said. Khalilzad’s remarks following his latest face-to-face meeting with the Taliban echoed those expressed privately by some Western diplomats in the capital, according to AFP. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also attended the talks in Abu Dhabi earlier this week. The Taliban would not meet with a 12-person Afghan delegation, Khalilzad said, describing the decision as “wrong.”