KABUL, Afghanistan - A former Taliban ambassador said Monday that the hard-line militants sat with Afghan officials and Saudi King Abdullah over an important religious meal in Saudi Arabia late last month as the insurgency raged back home.

Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, denied that the get-together could be construed as peace talks. But President Hamid Karzai has long called for negotiations with the Taliban, and the meeting could spur future initiatives.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said Monday that the militant group is independent from al-Qaida. The U.S. and other Western countries will never accept a peace deal with al-Qaida, the group behind 9/11. That could provide incentive for Taliban leader Mullah Omar to cement his independence from bin Laden's organization.

Though U.S. officials did not confirm the alleged meeting, Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday endorsed efforts to reach out to members of the Taliban or other militants in Afghanistan who may be considered reconcilable.

"That is one of the key long-term solutions in Afghanistan, just as it has been in Iraq," he told reporters en route to Europe. "Part of the solution is reconciliation with people who are willing to work with the Afghan government going forward."

Those who are not willing to work with the government must be dealt with militarily, he said.

With U.S. and NATO forces suffering their deadliest year so far in Afghanistan, the top U.N. envoy, Kai Eide, said Monday that the war "has to be won through political means."

"And that means political engagement. Then comes a question - with whom do you engage? My general answer is that if you want to have relevant results you must speak to those who are relevant," Eide told a news conference. "But these are processes that are very difficult to initiate. Nevertheless, in my view a policy of engagement is the right policy."

U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood referred reporters to the Afghan or Saudi governments for comment on the alleged meeting. A spokesman for Karzai's office declined to comment.

But Zaeef said he was invited by Saudi King Abdullah to share Iftar - the meal that breaks the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Taliban representatives, Afghan government officials and a representative for the powerful warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar were also at the meal, he said.

He said all parties talked socially with each other over the dinner but that they did not discuss any issue involving Afghanistan. It was not clear how many guests attended the dinner or where in Saudi Arabia it was held.

Zaeef, who spent almost four years in the U.S.