KABUL, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission refuted media reports that the United States was ready to join direct negotiations with the Taliban outfit, according to a statement of the RS public affairs received here Tuesday.
"The United States is not a substitute for the Afghan people or the Afghan government," U.S. Army Gen. John Nicholson, RS and U.S. forces Afghanistan commander, was quoted in the statement as saying.
"My reaffirmation of Secretary of State (Mike) Pompeo's statement in which he said peace talks would include a discussion of international forces and that the United States is ready to work with the Taliban, the Afghan government and the Afghan people towards lasting peace was mischaracterized," he said.
The statement added that the United States was prepared to "support, facilitate, and participate" in Afghan peace discussions.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other Afghan leaders have repeatedly offered peace talks with the Taliban.
The Taliban outfit said that it was ready to talk with the United States, but not with the Afghan government or its High Peace Council.
Around 16,000 troops from the United States, NATO and other partner countries are in Afghanistan, training the Afghan forces within the framework of a NATO-led RS mission.
