U.S. scrambles to get Afghanistan talks back on track

The Afghan government called off the talks after accusing the US of duplicity for agreeing to meet with the Taliban

Posted Jun 20, 2013

Talia Ralph
Global Post

World Economic Forum/FlickrHamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, captured during the 'Opening Remarks' at the Annual Meeting 2008 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 23, 2008.

The United States is scrambling to get planned talks with Afghanistan back on track, after denying reports that it agreed to meet with the Taliban.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai called off security meetings with the U.S. Tuesday after accusing American officials of duplicity in their diplomatic efforts. The Taliban's move to set up political offices in Doha, Qatar — where talks with the U.S. were allegedly scheduled to take place this week — has angered Afghan officials.

Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly placed at least two calls to Karzai Wednesday in an attempt to smooth over the recent rocky developments.

"There is a contradiction between what the U.S. government says and what it does regarding Afghanistan peace talks," a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Wednesday, after State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that reports of U.S.-Taliban talks were "inaccurate."

"We are still in discussion with the Afghan government about the appropriate next steps," said Psaki, adding that Ambassador James Dobbins, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, would be staying put as of now.

"I don't have any updates on if and when he will travel," she said.

"We always knew there would be bumps in the road," Psaki said of the talks. "Clearly this has been challenging."

Afghanistan was especially bothered by a banner hung outside the Taliban's new headquarters calling it the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," a nod to when the insurgents were in control of the country.

"The U.S. officials told us the office will be used to move peace talks forward, but not to give them an identity," an Afghan official told Reuters. "The Taliban's flag and the banner of the Islamic Emirate was something we did not expect."

This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.