Afghanistan'sPresident Hamid Karzai said Friday he met with Taliban and urged supporters ofTaliban to lay down their weapons.

"We have had representatives from the Taliban meeting with differentbodies of Afghan government for a long time," Karzai told a newsconference in Kabul."I have had some Taliban coming to speak to me as well," he said.

Karzai did not disclose any details of these meetings, or indicate if theyincluded talks with senior leaders.