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U.S. Ambassador Says Taliban Peace Process Stuck


United States Ambassador to Kabul James Cunningham
United States Ambassador to Kabul James Cunningham
The United States ambassador to Kabul has said that the Afghan peace process "hasn't really even begun."

James Cunningham told reporters in Kabul on January 17 that Washington wants serious peace talks with the Taliban but admitted that it had not yet been possible to get that process under way.

The United States made moves to open talks with the Taliban last year, but the militant group broke off negotiations saying Washington had failed to free five Taliban inmates held at Guantanamo Bay.

Cunningham's comments come as Kabul recently freed hundreds of Taliban militants inside Afghanistan and secured the releases of 26 Taliban prisoners held by Pakistan.

Kabul hopes the measure will unlock tentative peace negotiations.

Cunningham, speaking on Kabul's strategy, said many detainees released by Islamabad had simply disappeared.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP

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