The Taliban have denied reports their leaders have met with a U.N. official to discuss prospects for peace in Afghanistan. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Taliban said the reports of them meeting with Kai Eide, the U.N. representative for Afghanistan, were baseless rumors. <br/><br/>The statement said their refusal to negotiate peace had ensured the failure of this week's international conference in London on stabilizing Afghanistan. An unidentified U.N. official attending the conference said on Thursday the Taliban had met secretly with Eide about the possibility of beginning peace talks with the government. The official said the meeting took place January 8 in Dubai and was held at the militants' reques.