In a reversal of a long-standing policy, U.S. diplomats held face-to-face talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar a week ago without Afghan government officials present, two senior Taliban officials said Saturday.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. But the department has not denied that its diplomats had taken part in such talks — a significant shift in U.S. strategy toward the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Afghan president’s office said Saturday that it welcomed any support for peace efforts.

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The talks took place in Doha, where the Taliban have long maintained an informal “political office” for the purpose of restarting the long-dormant peace process. They involved several members of the Taliban political commission and Alice Wells, the State Department’s senior South Asia diplomat, as well as other unidentified U.S. diplomats, according to the two Taliban officials.

The Taliban officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivities around the talks, which were initially reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The New York Times reported on July 15 that such talks were expected, after the Trump administration told its top diplomats they could begin direct negotiations with the Taliban.

But U.S. officials have taken pains to insist that such talks would not mean the abandonment of what has been a long-standing policy that any peace process would be “Afghan owned and Afghan led.”

The meeting involved Wells and other senior U.S. diplomats, one of the Taliban officials said, and emphasized that direct talks with U.S. officials, in person and without the presence of Afghan officials or ministers, were a demand of the insurgents’ leadership.

The other official said that the meeting had concerned the peace process, and that the Taliban were expecting good results from it, including further similar meetings.

“The government of Afghanistan welcomes every effort which supports the peace process under the auspices of the government,” said Durrani Waziri, a deputy spokeswoman for President Ashraf Ghani. “We appreciate help and support from any side that can facilitate the peace process.”

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Waziri declined to comment, however, on whether the government was aware that the Americans had met with the Taliban in Doha.