Joint Chiefs chairman meets with Taliban on peace talks

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The top U.S. military officer has held an unannounced meeting with Taliban peace negotiators to push for a reduction in violence in Afghanistan.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley held about two hours of talks at a hotel in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday. He flew on Wednesday to Kabul and met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Milley told reporters traveling with him that he emphasized to both sides the key to moving toward a peace settlement is getting a reduction in violence, leading to a nationwide ceasefire.

For security reasons, the journalists traveling with Milley agreed not to report on the talks until he had left the region.