Afghan peace talks should continue unless Taliban pull out -Abdullah

Chairman of Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of Afghanistan’s peace council said on Friday that long-stalled talks on a political settlement to decades of strife should not be abandoned despite surging Taliban attacks, unless the insurgents themselves pull out.

“I think we shouldn’t shut the door unless it’s completely shut by the Taliban,” Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, told Reuters in an interview. “We can’t say no to talks despite a lack of progress or in spite of what’s happening on the ground.”