WASHINGTON: Top members of US President Barack Obama's cabinet on Sunday refused to rule out talks with Taliban leaders in order to bring about a settlement of the war in Afghanistan, but made them conditional on changes in the radical Islamic movement's strategy.

"They have to renounce Al-Qaeda, renounce violence," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the ABC News "This Week" program. "They have to be willing to abide by the constitution of Afghanistan and live peacefully."

She said she was "highly skeptical" that any of the current Taliban leaders would be interested in following the path of negotiations or accept such conditions.

But when asked directly if high-level negotiations with the Taliban were possible, Clinton replied: "We don't know yet."

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates clarified that President Obama's decision to bolster the US military presence in Afghanistan by 30,000 additional troops was aimed in part at bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table on US terms.

"I think that the likelihood of the leadership of the Taliban, or senior leaders, being willing to accept the conditions Secretary Clinton just talked about depends in the first instance on reversing their momentum right now, and putting them in a position where they suddenly begin to realize that they're likely to lose," Gates said on the same program.

Last Tuesday, Obama announced the deployment of additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan in order to "seize the initiative" and finally end the eight-year war.

But he said the troops will begin to come home after 18 months. However, US officials said separately that the pace of the withdrawal and the eventual full exit strategy would depend on conditions on the ground.

The first forces of the US buildup will arrive in Afghanistan within two to three weeks, according to the US Defense Department, as American troop levels were due to reach 100,000 by next summer.