In this May 15, 2020 file photo, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, speaks during a presentation of the Space Force Flag in the Oval Office of the White House with President Donald Trump (not in frame), in Washington. (ALEX BRANDON / AP)

WASHINGTON -The top US general met Taliban representatives this week in Qatar, urging them to reduce the level of violence and move more swiftly towards a political solution in Afghanistan, the US military said on Thursday.

The meeting in Doha with the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, comes as negotiators representing the Afghan government and the Taliban take a break until Jan 5 when they will continue to work on an agenda.

The meeting is said to be the second time the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, has met Taliban representatives. The meetings are believed to be the first time a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has met the Taliban

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Milley also met Taliban representatives in June but that meeting was not publicly announced, said a US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The two meetings are believed to be the first time a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has met the Taliban, although Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the top US military official in Afghanistan have met with them before.

“The chairman discussed the need for an immediate reduction of violence and accelerate progress towards a negotiated political solution which contributes to regional stability and safeguards U.S. national interests,” reads a US military statement.

During his trip, Milley also met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul.

READ MORE: Afghan govt, Taliban announce deal to pursue peace talks

US President Donald Trump will reduce the number of US troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 from 4,500 by mid-January, stopping short of a threatened full withdrawal from America’s longest war after fierce opposition from allies at home and abroad.

There has been a rise in violence, undermining the best hope for ending the war that has ravaged Afghanistan since 2001.

Pompeo said this month that violence in Afghanistan was “unacceptably high” and said Washington had asked the warring parties to “stand back and indeed stand down”.