The United States said Tuesday it would hold talks with the Taliban at the group's newly opened an office in the Qatari capital Doha, dpa reported.
Senior administration officials said US officials would hold their first formal meeting with the Taliban "in a couple of days."
They welcomed the opening of the office and steps by the Taliban to move forward with the Afghan peace process, but stressed the United States would play a secondary role to an Afghan-led process.
The developments "represent an important first step towards reconciliation - a process that, after 30 years of armed conflict in Afghanistan, will certainly promise to be complex, long and messy, but nonetheless, this is an important first step," said one official on the condition of anonymity.