The U.S.-NATO mission in Afghanistan refuted reports Monday that the top commander of American-led international forces said the United States is ready to engage in direct negotiations with the Afghan Taliban.

U.S. Gen. John Nicholson dismissed the reports as a mischaracterization of his comments, stressing in a statement issued Monday that United States policy remains focused on supporting peace talks led by the U.S.-allied Kabul government.

The statement came after Reuters reported Monday that Nicholson had indicated that “the United States is ready to join direct negotiations with the Taliban in an effort to end the 17 year-long war in Afghanistan … amid growing speculation about possible peace talks.”

Addressing the alleged mischaracterization of his remarks, Nicholson, the outgoing commander of the U.S.-NATO mission in Afghanistan, declared:

The United States is not a substitute for the Afghan people or the Afghan government. My reaffirmation of Secretary [Mike] Pompeo’s statement in which he said peace talks would include a discussion of international forces and that the United States is ready to work with the Taliban, the Afghan government and the Afghan people towards lasting peace was mischaracterized.

The United States is exploring “all avenues” to advance a peace process, “but this remains an Afghan-led process,” U.S. Army Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the American-NATO mission in Afghanistan known as Resolute Support, added.

In a June 16 statement, Secretary Pompeo stressed that the United States is against the Taliban’s long-held precondition of a complete withdrawal of foreign forces for peace talks to occur but noted that everything, including the presence of U.S.-NATO-led troops, is up for discussion.

On Sunday, the New York Times (NYT), citing unnamed senior American and Afghan officials, reported that the Trump administration has ordered “its top diplomats to seek direct talks with the Taliban,” marking a significant shift in U.S. policy long sought by the terrorist group.

NYT acknowledged that neither the U.S. State Department nor the Afghan Taliban had confirmed a shift in policy, adding, “While no date for any talks has been set, and the effort could still be derailed, the willingness of the United States to pursue direct talks is an indication of the sense of urgency in the administration to break the stalemate in Afghanistan.”

The United States has long insisted that peace talks must be owned and led by Kabul, but the Taliban, which wants to directly negotiate the end of the war with the U.S., has refused to budge on the issue.

Trump administration officials have made “reconciliation” between the Taliban and Kabul the primary goal of its strategy to end the war.

Diplomatic efforts towards peace negotiations have intensified since an unprecedented three-day ceasefire between the two warring sides last month, credited by Kabul and Washington to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Afghan strategy unveiled in August 2017.

Opium cultivation, heroin production, and the Taliban’s territory and manpower reached record levels under the previous U.S. administration.

There has been a “slight increase” in territory controlled by terrorist groups, mainly the Taliban, in Afghanistan since President Trump took office, the U.S. Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a watchdog agency appointed by Congress, reported at the end of April.

Nearly a year after the U.S. president released his Afghan plan, the war remains locked in a stalemate, according to various assessments.