(Adds comment explaining the Afghan decision, background)
By Hamid Shalizi
KABUL, June 19 (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai distanced himself from U.S. peace talks with Taliban insurgents that are likely to begin on Thursday, and, as a mark of displeasure, said the government was suspending negotiations with Washington over a troop agreement.
A senior Afghan official told Reuters on Wednesday that the government was unhappy over the official status being given to the Taliban, who opened an office in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Tuesday.
U.S. officials have said talks with the Taliban would begin in Doha on Thursday, raising hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan after 12 years of bloody and costly war between American-led forces and the insurgents.
Fighting, however, continues in the war-ravaged nation. Four U.S. soldiers were killed in a rocket attack on the heavily fortified Bagram base near Kabul late on Tuesday, international military officials said.
The Taliban have not confirmed the date for the negotiations in Doha and there was no immediate word if the talks would be affected by the Afghan government's objection.
"The Doha office gave the Taliban an official identity, something we didn't want," the Afghan official said.
"The U.S. officials told us the office will be used to move peace talks forward, but not to give them an identity.
"The Taliban's flag and the banner of the Islamic Emirate was something we did not expect at the office," the official said, referring to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the name the Taliban used during their rule.
Karzai's office said it was suspending talks on a security pact with the United States that will stipulate how many U.S. soldiers will stay in Afghanistan after most are pulled out by the end of next year.
"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," Karzai's office said in a statement.
Negotiations on the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) began this year and, if completed, will set out how many U.S. bases and soldiers will remain in Afghanistan once NATO ends combat operations by December 2014.
"The suspension of the talks will continue until there is clarity from the U.S.," the Afghan official said.
"FIRST STEP"
U.S. President Barack Obama, travelling in Europe, cautioned against expectations of quick progress in talks with the Taliban, saying the peace process would not be easy or quick.
"This is an important first step towards reconciliation; although it's a very early step," Obama said after a G8 meeting in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. "We anticipate there will be a lot of bumps in the road."
On Tuesday, Karzai had said his government would also send a team to Qatar but added the talks should quickly be moved to Afghanistan.
"We hope that our brothers the Taliban also understand that the process will move to our country soon," he said.
The Taliban have refused talks with Kabul, calling Karzai and his government puppets of the West.
Nonetheless, the diplomatic announcements represented the first signs of optimism in peace efforts for many months, and come as the U.S.-led war effort reaches a critical juncture. The NATO command in Kabul on Tuesday completed handing over lead security responsibility to Afghan government forces across the country.
U.S. officials said that in the talks in Doha, the United States would stick to its insistence that the Taliban break ties with al Qaeda, end violence, and accept the Afghan constitution, including protection for women and minorities.
The Taliban are expected to demand the return of former senior commanders now detained at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba - a move many in the U.S. Congress oppose - as well as the departure of all foreign troops.
But the United States hopes to keep a force, of as yet undetermined size, in the country after the end of the NATO combat mission. (Additional reporting by Miriam Arghandiwal; Writing by Dylan Welch; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Robert Birsel)
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