DOHA (AA) - Negotiations scheduled between Taliban and US were postponed on Friday due to debates on Taliban's opening a political bureau of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the Qatar's capital Doha.
Talks between Taliban and US, set to kick off this week, were temporarily suspended, after the flag at the bureau, which was opened last Tuesday, was lowered and the signboard which read "Taliban office of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate" was removed, diplomatic sources told.
An official with Qatar's Foreign Affairs Ministry stressed the name as "Afghan Taliban's political Doha bureau" and not "Taliban's Afghanistan Islamic Emirates political bureau".
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai harshly reacted to Taliban's opening a new office and warned it could affect Kabul-Washington relations.
Karzai in a statement on Thursday, said he would not come together with Taliban if US would not withdraw from the negotiations.
Upon developments, US wanted the Qatar government to remove the signboard "Afghanistan's Islamic Emirates" on Taliban's Doha office.
Qatar is expected to hang a new signboard in a few days after meeting with Talibani representatives.
On June 18, Taliban opened a political bureau of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the Qatar's capital Doha to help resume talks to end the 12-year-old war.
Taliban spokesman Mohammed Naeemat said, "We want to maintain good relations with all countries in the world, in particular with our neighboring countries."
He also had stressed that they aimed to keep in touch with the neighboring countries for peace talks, further develop relations and end the occupation via political and peaceful means.
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