Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he welcomes U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's remarks that the Taliban in Afghanistan are not America's enemies.

In a December 19 interview with the U.S magazine Newsweek, Biden said President Barack Obama has made no statement in any U.S. policy assertions that the Taliban is “our enemy.” The vice president said the insurgent group did not represent a threat to the United States, unless it continued to harbor al-Qaida.

On Saturday, Mr. Karzai said during a speech in Kabul that the Afghan people are very happy that America has announced that the Taliban are not their enemy. He said such a message will help bring peace and stability.

Earlier this week, the Afghan president said his government would accept the opening of a Taliban liaison office in the Gulf state of Qatar to resume peace talks with the insurgents as long as Afghans lead the negotiations.

U.S. officials have been quoted as saying that the United States is open to negotiating a peace agreement with the Taliban and that a possible deal could include the transfer of Taliban prisoners from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.