Saudi Arabia says no mediation with Taliban unless it expels bin Laden from its territory

Saudi Arabia wants Taliban to expel bin Laden

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia will not get involved in peacemaking in Afghanistan unless the Taliban stops providing shelter and severs all ties with Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida movement, officials said Tuesday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is visiting Saudi Arabia hoping for an active Saudi role in his plan to persuade Taliban militants to switch sides.

Saudi Arabia has a unique relationship with Taliban since it was one of the few countries to recognize the regime before it was ousted in 2001 and has acted as an intermediary before.

The Saudi conditions for participating in the talks with Taliban, especially expelling former Saudi citizen bin Laden, are not new, but Riyadh is restating them amid a new international push to work with the Afghan militants.

Riyadh “holds to its position which rejects entering any negotiations with Taliban before the group announces very clearly it is severing its connections with extremists and expelling the head of al-Qaida Osama bin Laden from its territories,” a Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Bin Laden is a member of a wealthy Saudi family but fell out with the government in the early 1990s over the presence of U.S. troops there. He was stripped of his citizenship in 1994.

The Saudi official was reiterating statements of the foreign minister last week at the Afghanistan conference in London. Prince Saud al-Faisal said he appreciated Karzai’s call for a Saudi role in peacemaking, but stressed Taliban had to first declare it is no longer sheltering bin Laden.

Saud also said an official mediation request is needed.

In London, Karzai stressed he plans to reconcile with Taliban leaders as much as they are willing, but he made clear his offer of reconciliation did not extend to anyone in al-Qaida, saying there was no room in Afghanistan for terrorists.

Karzai has said previously he is willing to talk to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and welcome back any militants who are willing to recognize the Afghan constitution. However, the Taliban has always set the withdrawal of international troops as a precondition for any negotiations.

Karzai called that unrealistic, saying the NATO coalition should be expected to stay until they achieve their goal of removing al-Qaida and other terrorist threats.

At the conference, Saudi Arabia pledged an addition $150 million in aid to the war-ravaged country.

Karzai has said he is looking forward to a key Saudi role, not only in reconstruction, but a broader role for peace-building and talks with Taliban.

His spokesman Waheed Omar told the privately owned Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat Tuesday that Karzai is expected to officially asked Saudi Arabia for mediation. He added that Afghans highly value the kingdom, which is viewed as the center of the Islamic world, and its leaders as the only ones able to convince Taliban leaders to discuss peace.

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Associated Press Writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report from Cairo.