London: In an attempt to prevent the long-term spread of terrorism and stabilise the world, Britain must talk to Taliban and other violent extremist groups, British Defence Secretary Des Browne said.

"Democratic states should negotiate with organisations linked to violence - including elements of the Taliban and Hizbollah," Browne said in an interview to The Daily Telegraph. "What you need to do in conflict resolution is to bring the people who believe that the answer to their political ambitions will be achieved through violence into a frame of mind that they accept their political ambitions will be delivered by politics," Browne said.

However, there is nothing to negotiate about with al-Qaeda, the Defence Secretary said. A former Northern Ireland Minister, Browne drew parallels between Afghanistan and the successful peace process in Northern Ireland, which he said, had convinced him it was possible to persuade extremists to change.

The Defence Ministry said it would not comment on the interview, saying only that it was not the first time Browne had expressed the idea. He had made similar proposals during the Labour Party's annual conference in September. Browne had said at that time the Taliban must be involved in any Afghan peace process because they are not going to go away.

Source : PTI