U.S. says hopes to get Taliban peace talks 'back on track'

The United States is still hoping to get peace talks with the Taliban and Afghan officials "back on track," a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Monday.
   
There have been some hopeful signs for the talks, Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters, adding that "we want to see if we can get it back on track."

Still, a new date for discussions has not yet been set and U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, James Dobbins, has not met with Taliban representatives, Ventrell added.
 
Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that conditions for talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan had not been met yet, after a spat over a new Taliban office in Qatar threatened to derail peace negotiations.

Kerry was speaking at a joint press conference with the Indian foreign minister in New Delhi.
   
The United States and Taliban insurgents are exploring peace talks in a fresh effort to end Afghanistan's 12-year-old war, helped behind the scenes by the support of neighboring Pakistan's powerful military.

India, which jockeys for influence with arch rival Pakistan in Afghanistan, last week warned that any reconciliation should not confer legitimacy on insurgent groups.

 
REUTERS