AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
In Afghanistan, talk of peace is in the air. Recent discussions, hosted by France, have renewed hopes for some sort of reconciliation between the Taliban and the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai. But after decades of war, many think the prospect of a negotiated peace deal is nothing but talk.
NPR's Sean Carberry has our story from Kabul.
SEAN CARBERRY, BYLINE: The on and off peace process has spent most of the last year off due to a set of seemingly irreconcilable differences. Taliban leaders have long rejected peace talks with the Karzai government, saying they will only negotiate with the U.S. The U.S., for its part, says the two sides should negotiate directly but the mood has changed since an informal meeting last month outside Paris.
For the first time, envoys from the Taliban sat at the same table with members of the Karzai-appointed Afghan High Peace Council as well as other Afghan politicians and members of parliament, including Nilofar Ibrahimi.
NILOFAR IBRAHIMI: (Through translator) It's the first time the Taliban accepted two women to join the peace talks. This is something very positive, and this is a very strong move towards peace.
CARBERRY: Ibrahimi says the Taliban delegates seemed ready to make some concessions on the question of women's rights once there is a peace settlement.
IBRAHIMI: (Through translator) The Taliban agreed that women will have the right to work, to study and to do business, but according to Islamic law.
CARBERRY: That's progress in Ibrahimi's view, but she's not fully convinced.
IBRAHIMI: (Through translator) I cannot say that I'm definitely optimistic about this meeting. There might be something that is still hidden behind the curtains.
MAWLAWI QALAMUDDIN: (Foreign language spoken)
CARBERRY: Mawlawi Qalamuddin is a former Taliban official and a member of the Afghan High Peace Council.
QALAMUDDIN: (Through translator) The most important part of the talks in France was the participation of the Taliban. For the two years the Peace Council has been in existence, no one from the Taliban has come to share their views with us.
CARBERRY: Kate Clark is senior analyst with the Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul.
KATE CLARK: I think peace is possible here.
CARBERRY: She says that one of the main challenges is that there are so many players, the U.S., the other NATO counties, Pakistan, the Taliban, the Afghan opposition and the Karzai government. And each has its own interests and needs to come away with some sort of victory they can take back to their respective constituencies.
CLARK: It's messy. It's really messy and, I think, to get beyond that requires a level of political seriousness that we have yet to see amongst the big players. Up until now, they've mainly been serious about waging war.
CARBERRY: Which explains why the attitude on the Afghan street is subdued, people hunger for peace, but they seem to think that one party or the other won't agree on a deal.
SAYED SHEKEIB: (Foreign language spoken)
CARBERRY: Sayed Shekeib, a 19-year-old student, says he doesn't trust the Taliban.
AHMAD: (Foreign language spoken)
CARBERRY: Ahmad, a 43-year-old shopkeeper, says only the U.S. can make peace happen. He doesn't think the Karzai government is looking out for the interests of the Afghan people. Wahid Mujdah agrees. He's a former Taliban official who now lives in Kabul.
WAHID MUJDAH: The Afghan government has no idea about this peace, not any plan and agenda about the peace process.
CARBERRY: He and others here say a recent plan drafted by the government is a half-hearted effort to exert control over the peace process. Mujdah says Taliban leaders have told him they still will not negotiate with Karzai.
MUJDAH: We prefer Americans, before they leave Afghanistan, they come and talk to resistance and we want to reach an agreement with the Americans on the future of Afghanistan.
CARBERRY: Which circles back to another apparent dead end since the U.S. says peace talks must be Afghan-led. So while in France, the parties agreed that there must be peace in Afghanistan, they still can't agree on a road map to get there. Sean Carberry, NPR News, Kabul.