Top US envoy met with Taliban officials in Qatar to explore ways for peace talks

Sources privy of the development have told The Wall Street Journal that the top U.S. envoy for South Asia met with Taliban officials this week to discuss ways to lay the groundwork for peace talks.
The sources have further added that the aim of the discussion was to build on momentum created by a recent three-day cease-fire that offered Afghans a tantalizing taste of peace after decades of war, these people said.
“Ambassador Alice Wells, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, led the U.S. delegation, which met with members of the Taliban’s political commission in Doha, Qatar,” according to the report.
The Taliban’s political office in Qatar and the US Department of State has not commented regarding the meeting so far.
 However, a State Department official has told the paper that “The United States is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government.”