A senior member of the Afghanistan's insurgent group, the Taliban, have called on the United States to restart negotiations.

Taliban's spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told NHK on Sunday that the door to dialogue for peace is open.
He said the group talked to government officials of Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan. Shaheen said they all agreed that the US should return to negotiations, and should abide by a tentative accord the two sides reached in principle.

 In September, the United States announced that it had reached a draft accord with the Taliban. But President Donald Trump abruptly called off the negotiations after a US soldier died in a terrorist attack claimed by the Taliban.

When asked about reports that Taliban negotiators met with a US representative in Pakistan in an effort to restart the talks, Shaheen said the meeting was a possibility, but could not officially say whether it took place.

In September, Trump pronounced the talks with the Taliban "dead", leaving prospects for peace unclear.

nhk