SAUDI NEGOTIATIONS WITH TALIBAN AND AFGHAN

S E C R E T STATE 108114 E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2018 TAGS: PINS PREL PTER SA AF SUBJECT: SAUDI NEGOTIATIONS WITH TALIBAN AND AFGHAN GOVERNMENT REF: 07 STATE 152286 Classified By: SCA Deputy Assistant Secretary Patrick Moon ¶1. (U) This is an action request. See para 3. ¶2. (U) In his September 30 Eid message, President Karzai said, "Since two years I have been sending letters and messages to the Saudi king, and requested him, as a world Muslim leader, to help us bring peace in Afghanistan. The preparation for negotiations is going on, on a daily basis. Our envoys traveled many times to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, but the discussions have not started yet. We hope that it happens soon." ¶3. (S) The Department seeks to ensure that in any negotiations with the Taliban, the Afghan government will continue to act consistent with the U.S. policy on reconciliation contained in reftel. We ask that Embassies Riyadh and Kabul report any information they can collect on past, current or planned Saudi-facilitated negotiations with the Taliban. Additionally, Embassy Kabul should remind senior Afghan officials of U.S. redlines on reconciliation (noted below from reftel) and seek their continued commitment to these conditions. -- There must be no power-sharing or other arrangements that would give insurgents governmental authority as a reward for reconciliation (which would effectively reward insurgent violence and undermine the constitutional processes); -- There will be no protected geographic areas or other arrangements that would limit the authority of the central government in any region of Afghanistan; -- Individuals or groups interested in reconciling must be prepared to (a) lay down their arms and return to normal life, (b) recognize the constitution and the authority of the democratically-elected government, (c) refrain from criminal activity once they return, and (d) have no association with Al-Qaeda. RICE NNNN End Cable Text