Taliban To Attend Paris Meeting On Afghanistan

The Taliban say they will attend a meeting in France to discuss Afghanistan's future but will not talk about peace and reconciliation.

Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said by telephone on Monday that two of the group's representatives will attend next week's meeting, which is being organized by a French think tank on the outskirts of Paris.

Representatives from the Afghan government's peace council, political parties and the militant Islamist group Hezb-e-Islami will also attend.

The meeting is not expected to produce results, but it will represent a rare-face-to-face gathering of Afghanistan's major players.

French Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Vincent Floreani says an intra-Afghan conference will be held this month and organized by the Foundation for Strategic Research.