U.S. Moves to Restart Taliban Peace Process by Jessica Donati – Wall Street Journal
U.S. officials and representatives of the Afghan Taliban have begun discussing ways to revive a peace process after talks fell apart last month, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The top U.S. envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, met international diplomatic counterparts in New York in late September and met with the Taliban in Pakistan earlier this month. The meetings touched on confidence-building measures that could include a possible prisoner swap or a reduction in violence, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
President Trump last month declared that talks with the Taliban were dead, and abruptly canceled plans to meet Taliban officials at the Camp David presidential retreat to complete an agreement hashed out during a year of bilateral talks, amid opposition from top aides and cabinet members…