In a statement released Wednesday, President Hamid Karzai said that the Afghan government had suspended the latest round of security talks with the United States, apparently in protest against Washington's direct outreach to the Taliban.
The announcement from President Hamid Karzai's office comes just a day before American officials are scheduled to meet with the Taliban for formal talks, according to CNN.
"In view of the contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the peace process, the Afghan government suspended the negotiations," said the president's office in the statement.
American officials are set to talk with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, where the Taliban recently opened their first official overseas office and President Obama earlier said that the talks are an "important first step toward reconciliation".
"We don't anticipate this process will be easy or quick, but we must pursue it in parallel with our military approach," said the U.S. president.
The two sides were seeking to explore each other's agendas during the talks and exchange prisoners.
A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, David Snepp, told CNN that they have seen the statement but refused to comment.
"We've seen the statement and we don't have a response at this point," said David Snepp.
It was probably a bit of a shock to the U.S. government as the announcement comes just a day after NATO-led troops transferred security responsibilities to Afghan forces.
The U.S. government has been negotiating a bilateral security agreement with the Afghan government in a bid to maintain a troop presence in the country even after 2014 when all combat troops are scheduled to withdraw from the country.
Washington failed to reach a similar agreement in Iraq in the past and completely withdrew its troops by the end of 2011.
