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The government of Afghanistan is close to beginning direct peace talks with Taliban insurgents for the first time, according to senior Afghan officials.

Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive in Afghanistans unity government, said at a Cabinet meeting Monday that Taliban leaders were willing to negotiate directly with Kabul, raising hope for a settlement to hostilities that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Abdullah said he had received assurances from Pakistan, where senior Taliban leaders are based, that the insurgent group was ready to hold face-to-face talks for the first time since a multinational diplomatic effort to engage the Taliban collapsed in 2013. The difference this time, officials say, is the peace process would be directed completely by Afghans.

Pakistan has told those people that are involved in the war that they do not have any other option than negotiating with Afghanistans government, Abdullah said.

With the U.S.-led NATO coalition having declared its combat mission over - although about 10,000 American troops remain in Afghanistan -- new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has sought to take ownership of the talks. Ghani has urged Pakistan in a series of meetings to put pressure on the Taliban and enlisted the support of China, a key ally of Islamabad.

One Afghan official with knowledge of the negotiations described the involvement of China as a big, important new development.

Ghani, who enjoys a less adversarial relationship with the Taliban than his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, is said to be willing to allow certain vetted Taliban representatives to participate in amending the constitution and even taking up positions in the unity government.

A spokesman for Ghani, Ajmal Obaid Abidy, declined to confirm details of the nascent peace process, but said it will be transparent and according to the will of the people.

In 2013, the Taliban briefly opened a diplomatic office in the Persian Gulf sheikdom of Qatar after clandestine talks involving the United States and the European Union. Angry that Afghans had been excluded, Karzai refused to participate and roundly criticized the effort, which quickly fell apart.

Afghan and international officials say Ghanis approach is bearing fruit.

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Afghanistan reported close to direct peace talks with Taliban