The next round of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government will be held in Qatar from next month, a top official said, despite President Ashraf Ghani\u2019s recent calls for them to be moved home.
Peace talks began on September 12 at a luxury hotel in Doha, but negotiations are currently on a break until January 5.
\u201cThe second round of talks will begin on January 5 in Doha,\u201d said Faraidoon Khwazoon, spokesman for Afghanistan\u2019s High Council for National Reconciliation, which is leading the overall peace process in the country, on Sunday.
\u201cThe leadership committee of the council \u2026 decided to hold the talks in Doha,\u201d he tweeted, adding that many of the countries that had earlier volunteered to host the talks withdrew their offers because of COVID-19.
In a separate statement, the presidency tweeted that Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the council, held a meeting on Sunday.
The two \u201cdiscussed the venue for the next round of talks\u201d after which Ghani announced the government\u2019s support for a second stage of talks with the Taliban, the presidency said.
Earlier in December, negotiators from both sides decided to take a break after months of often frustrating meetings which were bogged down by disputes on the basic framework of discussions and religious interpretations.
Prior to going on the break, negotiators finally announced they were ready to proceed on preliminary lists of agenda items when talks resumed on January 5.
But Ghani and some other top Afghan officials immediately called for the next round of meetings to be held in Afghanistan.
\u201cIt is not appropriate to insist on holding talks in luxurious hotels. It is necessary that the people see how the talks happen, which issues are focused on and why,\u201d Ghani said soon after the break in talks was announced.
The Taliban did not comment on Ghani\u2019s call, but they have in the past always refused to hold the negotiations in Afghanistan.
The armed group has a political office in Doha and its negotiating team resides there.
The talks follow a landmark troops withdrawal deal signed in February by the Taliban and Washington, which will see all foreign soldiers leave the violence-wracked country by May next year.
Plans for renewed negotiations come amid a surge of violence across Afghanistan in recent months, including in Kabul, which has seen regular bomb attacks and targeted killings of prominent figures.
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