The commander of international forces in Afghanistan says Nato has granted safe passage to Kabul for at least one Taliban commander to hold talks with the Afghan government.
General David Petraeus says the concession has been made in order to further the efforts of President Hamid Karzai in reaching out to the Taliban.
Mr Karzai this month launched a 70-member High Peace Council to establish dialogue with the insurgents.
Speaking to a defence think-tank in London, the BBC reports, General Petraeus said there were several initiatives under way to try to get the Taliban to the negotiating table.
He said several very senior Taliban leaders had made contact with the Afghan government and other countries engaged in the war, seeking preliminary discussions.
He also said that Kabul was now a secure place to live; that education and literacy had surged; and that businesses were thriving, with people returning to Afghanistan.
Analysts say, however, that the bigger picture is of an intensifying insurgency, with Aghanistan facing its bloodiest year since the US-led invasion of 2001. More than 40 Nato soldiers have been killed this month alone.
Correspondents say there is no doubt that the Taliban have held talks at various levels with the Afghan government over the past 18 months but that the challenge will be to build on that.
