Kabul , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- The Afghan government hopes to hold talks with Taliban representatives in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks , according to a senior Afghan official , in a move that threatens to cloud already delicate and fragile steps to negotiate an end to the United States ' longest war . The senior official , speaking anonymously as he was discussing sensitive diplomatic issues , said there were plans for a meeting between insurgents and Afghan officials in Saudi Arabia . Yet , he added , the plans were at such an early stage that it was not clear who -- including American officials -- would attend or when any talks would be held . The U.S. has acknowledged that it has held discussions about opening a Taliban office in Doha , Qatar , as well as the possibility of transferring some Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay as part of American support for Afghan reconciliation efforts . `` The principle is that although there is now an agreement -- almost -- to set up an office in Doha , that does n't necessarily mean that all conversations will take place in Doha , '' the official said . `` We will talk to the same or different individuals ( from the insurgency ) in a different location . Obviously , Saudi Arabia has been supportive of the recent agenda and has hosted talks in the past . It is likely that we are heading there in the future for meetings . '' He said the dates and participants were still being worked out and insisted that any Saudi discussions would feed into the Qatar process . This is `` absolutely not in opposition to the Qatar process , '' he added , calling the talks in that Gulf state `` a very substantive step forward . '' Importantly , while the Afghan official was unable to say whether the Americans would attend any talks held in Saudi Arabia , he insisted , `` The U.S. is supportive of the idea . It is far too early to discuss any specifics about this . '' The creation of a parallel process to the Qatar talks risks frustrating American efforts to bring the Taliban and Afghan officials together . The current `` talks about talks '' in Doha are the product of months of U.S. efforts to reach out to the insurgency , which came to sudden fruition last month when the Taliban announced that they would support opening an office in their name in Qatar . Officials in President Hamid Karzai 's government privately voiced frustration at being excluded from the early stages of this process . They agreed to support it last week , but the announcement of a separate drive in Saudi Arabia will be interpreted by many as an Afghan reminder that they wish to exert overriding influence over any peace process . The official 's remarks that they might talk to different insurgents in Saudi Arabia could further create distance between this process and that in Qatar , although the official insisted that was not the intention . The official said the Qatar process could move forward once the Qataris sent a delegation to Kabul to discuss the next steps , adding that he hoped that would be soon . He said that as of now , there were no Afghan government officials in Qatar to support any discussions . `` To fully assume ownership of the Qatar process is important for us , '' the official added . `` We will work in the weeks ahead '' to do that . He said the Americans needed a clear statement from the insurgents , distancing themselves from terrorism , for their role in the Qatar process to move forward and for an office to be established . He said : `` We know and are aware the are Taliban representatives in Doha . There are channels in fact , and we are aware of the presence . What 's not yet established is the office . '' An American observer with an intimate knowledge of the discussions said , `` What ( Karzai ) is basically saying is that he is not on board with the Qatar process . '' The observer said he did not think American officials had been made aware of the Saudi Arabian process before its announcement and expressed doubts as to how thought-out and organized any Saudi meeting was . `` This does n't seem really serious . It 's more a symptom of Karzai protesting the progress that 's been made in Qatar . We do n't know if this is real or if the Saudis are on board . It 's yet another statement that comes out of Kabul that throws a monkey wrench into the process . '' He added that Karzai had blown `` hot and cold '' over reconciling with the Taliban . `` It is frustrating because often the assumption was that it would be difficult to get the Taliban to focus on talks , but actually it 's difficult to get Karzai to . ''
Most details , such as who and when , remain up in the air . U.S. has held discussions about opening a CNN office in Qatar . Move is `` not in opposition to the Qatar process , '' Saudi Arabian official says . Qatar official says move shows that Hamid Karzai 's is not on board with U.S. efforts .