The United States is in contact with the Taliban about a possible settlement to the near decade-long war in Afghanistan, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday, the first official confirmation of U.S. involvement in negotiations. Karzai said that an Afghan push toward peace talks had not yet reached a stage where the government and insurgents were meeting, but their representatives had been in touch. "Peace talks are going on with the Taliban. The foreign military and especially the United States itself is going ahead with these negotiations," Karzai said in a speech in Kabul. "The peace negotiations between (the) Afghan government and the Taliban movement are not yet based on a certain agenda or physical (meetings), there are contacts established." The U.S. Embassy in Kabul declined immediate comment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/18/us-afghanistan-talks-idUSTRE75H0LS20110618
