(VOVworld) – The PTI news agency said on Wednesday that the Afghan Taliban is ready for peace talks with the United States, if their demands are met. 

US soldiers in the fight against Taliban in 2010 (Source: USMC)

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said earlier this week that their two conditions for peace talks are the removal of the group leader's name from the UN blacklist and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan. The Afghan government rejected the group's demands, a sign of the deep rift between the two sides in Afghanistan's protracted conflict. Haroon Chakhansuri, spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, said only the Afghan government has the authority to ask the UN to list or de-list Afghan citizens from its sanctions lists.