The Taliban have suspended talks with the US in Qatar, accusing the Americans of changing their position on the dialogue.

In a statement posted on their website the Taliban said,

"It was due to their alternating and ever-changing position that the Islamic Emirate was compelled to suspend all dialogue with the Americans,"

The statement alleged a US representative presented a list of conditions at the last meeting, "which were not only unacceptable but also in contradiction with the earlier agreed upon points."

"We must categorically state that the real source of obstacle in talks was the shaky, erratic and vague standpoint of the Americans therefore all the responsibility for the halt also falls on their shoulders," it said.

It is thought that US insistence on the inclusion of the Afghan government in any talks is the contentious point.

In the statement, the Taliban reiterated their belief that any talks with the Kabul government were ‘pointless’.

Last week’s murders of Afghan civilians by a US soldier were not mentioned.

The US has denied changing any terms of the talks.

"The terms have been as I've stated them on many occasions," said White House spokesman Jay Carney, citing a need for the Taliban to lay down its weapons, renounce Al-Qaeda and abide by the Afghan constitution.

"We broadly support a process here that is essential to the long-term resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan," he said.