Source: NBC News
U.S. and Taliban representatives say six days of talks have produced progress toward a potential agreement that would see Washington withdraw American troops within 18 months and the insurgents commit to preventing Al-Qaeda or other extremists to use the country as a base for terrorism.
The duration and scope of the talks in Doha between U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and senior Taliban figures was unprecedented, former diplomats and experts said, and positive public statements by both sides raised the tantalizing prospect of a negotiated end to the 17-year-old war.
“I’m more optimistic than ever before. I think we’re much closer to a possible settlement than we have been in the past — at least 17 years and particularly in the last few years,” said Hekmat Karzai, former deputy foreign minister for Afghanistan and a cousin of the former president, Hamid Karzai.
But while both Khalilzad and the Taliban struck a positive tone afterward, it was also clear that crucial issues that have long proved to be stumbling blocks remained unresolved.
“Reports by some media outlets about agreement on a ceasefire and talks with the Kabul administration are not true,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement Saturday.
The U.S. envoy said the agreement would need to include a ceasefire and a pledge from the Taliban to enter into negotiations with the Afghan government. But the Taliban has so far rejected a ceasefire and refused to recognize the Western-backed government in Kabul, referring to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as an American puppet.
The U.S. envoy departed Doha Saturday night and was flying to Kabul for consultations with an Afghan government that fears Washington is overly eager to strike a deal with their adversaries.
In a series of tweets, Khalilzad said discussions were “more productive than they have been in the past. We made significant progress on vital issues.”
1/3 After six days in Doha, I’m headed to #Afghanistan for consultations. Meetings here were more productive than they have been in the past. We made significant progress on vital issues.
— U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace)
But he said that there were “a number of issues left to work out” and that there could be no deal without a cease-fire and a dialogue among Afghans. “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”
Foreign diplomats, former U.S. diplomats and experts said the talks showed promise, but that it was unclear if the United States could persuade the Taliban…
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