KABUL – *The Taliban are the stumbling block to the peace process, theTrump administration alleged on Friday, ruling out direct talks with itunless the militant leaders engaged with the elected Afghan government.*

In an apparent response to a recent letter from the Taliban to the US, theTrump team also ruled out withdrawing troops from Afghanistan — apre-condition set by the rebels for talks.

America’s senior diplomat for South and Central Asia said the US was inAfghanistan at the request of its government and people would be stay thereto make sure the country did not become a safe haven for terrorists again.

“The recent Taliban letter to the people of the United States, I believe,misses the point. For eight years, the US has been prepared to support apeace process, but we cannot be a substitute for the Afghan people in theAfghan government negotiations with the Taliban,” Alice Wells remarked.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Congress-supported think-tank, shesaid: “The Taliban were at war with the Afghan people long before USmilitary operations began in 2001. Now obviously the US has a directinterest in the resolution of this conflict and the Taliban have frequentlystated the need for all foreign troops to depart Afghanistan is aprecondition for negotiations.

“We are in Afghanistan as a guest of a sovereign Afghan government that’srecognized by the UN and international community, with our presenceenshrined in the strategic partnership agreement and a bilateral securityagreement.”

She added the US would continue its mission so long as the independentAfghan government agreed to host and work with the Americans.

To a question, she said the Taliban could not expect direct talks with theUS as had happened in the case of North Korea. There was no comparisonbetween North and South Korea and Afghanistan, the diplomat argued.

Wells noted North and South Korea had spoken to each other in advance ofthe president’s offer to engage in the conversation.

“So, what we’re looking for in Afghanistan is a fundamental recognitionthat in an insurgency, the insurgents and the government that is rulingneed to engage in a conversation with one another as well as with otherinterested parties to that settlement. We have been very consistent in thisapproach,” Wells said.

President Ashraf Ghani recently concluded the second Kabul Processconference, laying out some important principles in his remarks aboutimplementation of the peace process. That would require the support of theinternational community.

There was no way to walk away from Afghanistan even in a time of peace.“But I can certainly assure you we understand how difficult it is and howessential it is to the success of the overall effort.

“Certainly it’s only going to be when we see the success of thestabilization of Afghanistan that we in the international community candraw the confidence that the level of our presence is not required,” Wellssaid.

The Afghan government’s ability to manage its own security and territory ina responsible fashion would all feed into the international assessment ofhow to structure future relations with Afghanistan, Wells said.

Accusing the Taliban of being indifferent to the Afghan people, shebelieved it was time for the conflict to end. “There’s a way to end thisconflict. There’s a will to end this conflict. There’s internationalsupport to this. It’s the Taliban who are the stumbling block to peace.”

The diplomat said it was up to the Taliban leaders to respond to thisserious offer of talks from Ghani. The US supported Ghani’s move and wasprepared to facilitate it, the official explained.

Wells said when it came to the United States, its conditions-based SouthAsia strategy ensured the Taliban could not win on the battlefield, but itrecognized that a resolution to the conflict would be through a negotiatedsettlement.