Last week's meeting in Doha between a U.S. diplomat and Taliban representatives went well and both sides agreed to further talks in an effort to end 17 years of conflict in Afghanistan, people with knowledge of the situation told Reuters Sunday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Alice Wells, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, met with four members of the Taliban's political commission, to lay the groundwork for peace talks. A Taliban representative told Reuters there were "very positive signals," and it was agreed they would "meet again soon and resolve the Afghan conflict through dialogue." At the Taliban's request, there were no Afghan government officials at the meeting.