A U.S. peace envoy urged Taliban forces on Tuesday to stop the armed violence and “negotiate a political settlement,” warning insurgents they won’t be recognized internationally after coming to power through force. The warning comes as the militant group took a seventh provincial capital in northern Afghanistan in under a week amid claims that government forces simply retreated without fighting. A battle still continues between Taliban forces and the Western-backed government for control of several others, including Lashkar Gah in Helmand, and Kandahar in provinces of the same names. The U.S. State Department announced that Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy, traveled to Qatar on Aug. 8 and will be in the country’s capital to “help formulate a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan,” noting that negotiation is the “only path to stability and development” in the country. “In several planned rounds of meetings over three days, representatives from countries in …