The Turkish foreign minister has confirmed that preparations are underway for opening an office in Turkey for the Afghan Taliban. During a recent visit to Turkey, the president of Pakistan, together with his Turkish counterpart, made a commitment to support political initiatives to end the war in Afghanistan. Ankara has been calling for talks with the Taliban, and having strong ties with both Afghanistan and Pakistan is seen as a key element in facilitating talks.

Turkey says it is willing to host a political office for Taliban militants from Afghanistan in order to promote talks to end the war there. An unnamed Afghan official is quoted as saying that planning for the office is already in progress.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul voiced support for initiatives to stabilize conflict-torn Afghanistan at a joint press conference Wednesday with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari. Mr. Gul said these initiatives include efforts to improve dialogue with the Taliban.

"We are interested in the Afghanistan issue in a very wide framework," said President Gul. "We will always take part in any activity that contributes to peace and aims for a permanent peace process. We are involved there not only in the war, but to help the Afghan people normalize life there."

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday confirmed that he held talks last month with Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former Afghan president who heads a peace council set up by the Afghan government to work toward a political solution.

Turkey has traditional strong ties with both Afghanistan and Pakistan and has used those contacts successfully to mitigate Afghan-Pakistani tensions. Turkey also has several hundred soldiers stationed with the NATO-led ISAF forces in Afghanistan. However, according to Soli Ozel, an international relations expert at Istanbul's Kadir Has University, their strictly non-combat role means all sides still view Turkey as neutral.

"The Turks are a legitimate force in Kabul and may be contributing to at least the relative stability in that part of the country,"said Ozel. "Look, if you do have in Kabul a situation where other countries soldiers' are wearing Turkish uniforms because it's lot safer in the streets, that tells you something about the kind of prestige that the Turkish soldiers enjoy in Kabul."

Turkish officials say they are waiting for a formal request from the Afghan government to open an office. Last December, Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the initiative in principle at a summit with his Turkish and Pakistani counterparts in Istanbul, Voice of America reported.