Afghanistan's Taliban deny having held peace talks with a United Nations envoy for Afghanistan.

Earlier this week it was reported that UN envoy Kai Eide had met with militants in Dubai. The Taliban Leadership Council has dismissed the reports as baseless rumours and Western propaganda. The United Nations has declined to comment. So far, the UN has not been involved in mediation efforts.
 

At a conference in London earlier this week, President Karzai repeated an invitation to Taliban leaders to attend a peace council. The United States has been encouraging the Afghan government to open talks with moderate Taliban to end eight years of war.