Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says no-one was willing to talk with the Taliban and that he has convinced the world to negotiate with the armed group to bring an end the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

No-one was willing to talk with them, I convinced the world to talk [with the Taliban],” Ghani said at gathering held on Thursday under the title of “national consensus of women on peace” in Kabul.
The president stressed the Afghan government should own the peace process and that the world should only play a ‘guaranteeing” role in the possible peace agreement with the Taliban; ‘not anything further than that”.
“The people should set the limits in the peace process, ” Ghani said. ” “No one can force peace on us and a peace which is not sustainable is not acceptable for us.”
His remarks come as the  U.S. and Taliban representatives began their most detailed and high-level discussions in Qatar on Tuesday aimed at reaching into a political settlement in war-torn Afghanistan.
The talks, however,  have been paused after three “solid” days of talks.
“Emerging from three solid days of talks with the Taliban in Doha. Meetings were productive. We continue to take slow, steady steps toward understanding and eventually peace,” Khalilzad tweeted.  
“Both sides will take the next two days for internal deliberations, with plans to regroup on Saturday. All four key issues remain on the table,” he added.