KABUL - Seeing a softening in the Taliban's stance at the three-day gathering in Paris, political parties hope sustained negotiations would help bring normality to the country.

Representatives of the Afghan government, Taliban and other factions met behind closed doors in Chantilly near Paris to confer on the post-2014 situation.

Members of the Taliban political bureau in Qatar, Shahabudin Dilawar and Dr. Mohammad Naeem highlighted the movement's position at the meeting, the group's spokesman said.

The Taliban outlined their stance on peace, the 2014 election, the presence of foreign troops, the need for an Islamic system, a truly representative government and a new constitution. It was the first direct meeting between Afghan government and Taliban representatives since 2001.

A member of the Right and Justice party, Moeen Mrastyal, said Taliban's participation in the gathering reflected their belief in a negotiated end to the war and their stance on women's rights.

"It was an informal initiative aimed at an exchange of ideas. At a later stage, such meetings could yield fruitful results," Mrastyal believed, saying the negotiators had been able to bring down the level of differences.

People concerns regarding the rebels' position on core issues had been addressed to some extent, said the chairman of Afghan Millat party, Stana Gul Sherzad. With the US and Pakistan pressing for a political settlement, the Taliban had watered down their standpoint, he added.

National Front spokesman Fazal Rahman Orya suggested the track-two process should proceed under the United Nations' rubric. But the world body had played no role in the Paris meeting, he pointed out.

"Our party supports peace talks and hopes such meetings will be conducted under the UN to yield positive results and address fear of interference from certain countries," he concluded. (Pajhwok)