US, Taliban peace talks collapse over leaks: report

LONDON: The secret peace talks between the United States and the Taliban leadership have broken down after details of the negotiations were leaked, British daily newspaper reported quoting Western diplomats.

The breakdown in the talks at such an early stage has led to recriminations and claims that the details of the meetings and the identity of the Taliban's chief negotiator were deliberately leaked by 'paranoid' Afghan government figures.

Absolute confidentiality had been a key condition for the meetings which were held in Germany and Qatar earlier this year between Tayeb Agha, Taliban leader Mullah Omar's former private secretary, and senior officials from the US State Department and Central Intelligence Agency.