Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he would send representatives from the High Peace Council to the Gulf state of Qatar soon for peace talks with the Taliban, dpa reported.
"We want the Afghans' problems to be solved by themselves in their home, but in the interests of the peace negotiations, we have accepted Taliban's office in Qatar," said Karzai, who formed the council in 2010 to seek an end to the conflict in Afghanistan.
Earlier in March, Karzai met the emir of Qatar to request his support for the talks.
Karzai made the announcement as Afghan national forces formally took lead responsibility for security in the whole of the country.