WASHINGTON  — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has delivered a stern rebuke to the Taliban, who say they are stopping peace negotiations with the United States, reported CNN on Thursday.
“What the Taliban do is up to them,” Clinton said Wednesday at the State Department after a meeting with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul. “We have been clear we are prepared to continue discussions, and our goal is to open the door so that Afghans can be negotiating among and between themselves.” “We are not stopping our efforts to support the security of Afghanistan while we try to see whether there is an opportunity for negotiations. So, really, at this point, the choice is up to them.”
“Reconciliation,” which also is supposed to include the Afghan government in what the US calls an “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned” process, “is going to be a very long-term process...there’s nothing quick or easy about it,” Clinton told reporters.