Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he will refuse peace talks with the Taliban in a newly-opened office in Qatar unless only Afghans are involved and violence stops.
Karzai says his High Peace Council would "neither attend nor participate in the talks" until the process is "completely" in the hands of Afghans, according to a statement from his office.
The announcement came after Karzai said earlier Wednesday that he suspended negotiations with the United States on what troops will remain in the country after 2014.
Karzai is making the moves to protest the way the U.S. is reaching out to the Taliban in efforts to find a political solution to the war.
On Tuesday, after months of delays, the Taliban opened a new office in Doha, Qatar, where representatives from the U.S. and the Taliban will hold peace talks on Thursday, senior U.S. administration officials said.
Karzai's High Peace Council was expected to follow up with its own talks a few days later, but it is now unclear whether or not those talks will happen.
Karzai says he rejected the talks "in view of the contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the peace process."
His spokesman was not immediately reachable for questions, and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it had no immediate comment.
Karzai has stated in the past that he hoped that the peace process would move almost immediately to Afghanistan, however, U.S. officials do not expect that to be possible in the near future.
"We are hopeful that after starting negotiations in Qatar, immediately the negotiations and all the peace process should move into Afghanistan. Afghanistan shouldn't be center of the discussions outside of the country," Karzai said.
U.S. administration officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record, say the peace process will be "complex, long and messy" because of the ongoing level of distrust between the parties.
In another incident highlighting the fragile situation in Afghanistan, only hours after announcing they would hold talks with the U.S., the Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack on the Bagram Air Base in which four American troops were killed.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the insurgents fired two rockets into the base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, late on Tuesday. American officials confirmed the base had come under attack by indirect fire — likely a mortar or rocket — and that four U.S. troops were killed.
Also Tuesday, five Afghan police officers were killed at a security outpost in Helmand province by apparent Taliban infiltrators — the latest in a string of so-called "insider attacks" that have shaken the confidence of the nascent Afghan security forces.
The Taliban announcement followed a milestone handover in Afghanistan earlier Tuesday as Afghan forces formally took the lead from the U.S.-led NATO coalition for security nationwide. It marked a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role.
The handover paves the way for the departure of the majority of coalition forces — currently numbering about 100,000 troops from 48 countries, including 66,000 Americans — within 18 months.
The NATO-led force is to be cut in half by the end of the year, and by the end of 2014 all combat troops are to leave and be replaced — contingent on Afghan governmental approval — by a smaller force that would be on hand for training and advising.
The U.S. has not yet said how many troops will remain in Afghanistan, but it is thought that it would be a force made up of about 9,000 Americans and 6,000 allies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Karzai says his High Peace Council would "neither attend nor participate in the talks" until the process is "completely" in the hands of Afghans, according to a statement from his office.
The announcement came after Karzai said earlier Wednesday that he suspended negotiations with the United States on what troops will remain in the country after 2014.
Karzai is making the moves to protest the way the U.S. is reaching out to the Taliban in efforts to find a political solution to the war.
On Tuesday, after months of delays, the Taliban opened a new office in Doha, Qatar, where representatives from the U.S. and the Taliban will hold peace talks on Thursday, senior U.S. administration officials said.
Karzai's High Peace Council was expected to follow up with its own talks a few days later, but it is now unclear whether or not those talks will happen.
Karzai says he rejected the talks "in view of the contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the peace process."
His spokesman was not immediately reachable for questions, and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it had no immediate comment.
Karzai has stated in the past that he hoped that the peace process would move almost immediately to Afghanistan, however, U.S. officials do not expect that to be possible in the near future.
"We are hopeful that after starting negotiations in Qatar, immediately the negotiations and all the peace process should move into Afghanistan. Afghanistan shouldn't be center of the discussions outside of the country," Karzai said.
U.S. administration officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record, say the peace process will be "complex, long and messy" because of the ongoing level of distrust between the parties.
In another incident highlighting the fragile situation in Afghanistan, only hours after announcing they would hold talks with the U.S., the Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack on the Bagram Air Base in which four American troops were killed.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the insurgents fired two rockets into the base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, late on Tuesday. American officials confirmed the base had come under attack by indirect fire — likely a mortar or rocket — and that four U.S. troops were killed.
Also Tuesday, five Afghan police officers were killed at a security outpost in Helmand province by apparent Taliban infiltrators — the latest in a string of so-called "insider attacks" that have shaken the confidence of the nascent Afghan security forces.
The Taliban announcement followed a milestone handover in Afghanistan earlier Tuesday as Afghan forces formally took the lead from the U.S.-led NATO coalition for security nationwide. It marked a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role.
The handover paves the way for the departure of the majority of coalition forces — currently numbering about 100,000 troops from 48 countries, including 66,000 Americans — within 18 months.
The NATO-led force is to be cut in half by the end of the year, and by the end of 2014 all combat troops are to leave and be replaced — contingent on Afghan governmental approval — by a smaller force that would be on hand for training and advising.
The U.S. has not yet said how many troops will remain in Afghanistan, but it is thought that it would be a force made up of about 9,000 Americans and 6,000 allies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.