WASHINGTON – *Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (HPC) on Monday welcomed thenews that US President Donald Trump directed top diplomats to seek directtalks with the Taliban and said any move for peace was a good move.*

This rare shift in US policy could hopefully bring an end to the 17 yearold war in the country.

“We welcome any move which is in cooperation with the peace process effortsand which could speed up the process of peace talks under the leadership ofthe Afghans inside and outside the country,” said HPC spokesman Sayed EhsanTahiri.

The Taliban have long said they will only discuss peace with the US. Butthe US has remained adamant that talks must be conducted with the Afghangovernment.

This comes a day after Afghanistan’s capital Kabul suffered a suicidebombing that killed seven people.

New York Times reported that the shift to prioritize initial US talks withthe Taliban over what has proved a futile “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned”process stems from a realization by both Afghan and American officials thatTrump’s new Afghanistan strategy is not making a fundamental difference inrolling back Taliban gains.

US officials said these talks will start without any preconditions and thatthe future of US and NATO forces will be discussed.

The UK’s ambassador to Afghanistan also welcomed the move.

“Such an important and welcome move,” UK ambassador to Afghanistan NicolasKay tweeted.

The apparent strategy shift, which was confirmed by several senior Americanand Afghan officials, is intended to bring the two positions closer andlead to broader, formal negotiations to end the long war.

According to the New York Times report, the government controls orinfluences 229 of Afghanistan’s 407 districts, and the Taliban 59. Theremaining 119 districts are contested, according the Office of the SpecialInspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which was createdby Congress to monitor progress in the country.