A UN Security Council sanctions committee has dropped the names of 14 former Afghan Taliban leaders from a blacklist, the German magazine Stern reported Saturday, according to dpa. The decision on Friday in New York eases the atmosphere for peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. President Hamid Karzai's government had asked for the men to be de-listed. The blacklist was part of UN sanctions imposed in 1999 when the Taliban were in power. Peter Wittig, the German UN ambassador who chairs the Taliban sanctions committee, said the message was clear, that the international community supported efforts by Kabul to hold a dialogue with Taliban members willing to reconcile. NATO, which aims to pull forces out of Afghanistan by 2014, support's Kabul's efforts to reach a peace accord with the Taliban.
