BERLIN – GERMANY is helping mediate secret, direct talks between the United States and the Afghan Taleban, with meetings taking place on German soil, Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday.

Germany’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Michael Steiner is moderating the talks, the latest round of which took place on May 7 and 8 in Germany, the magazine said.

Mr Steiner, a trained judge and long-term diplomat, once headed the UN mission to Kosovo.

US President Barack Obama’s administration has been engaged in direct talks with senior Afghan Taleban officials, responsible for leading the fight against the western-backed Kabul government, since the autumn of 2010, Spiegel said. read more