The United States and Afghan Taliban made significant progress on vital issues after six days’ consultations in Qatar, U.S. Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said Saturday.
The meetings were “more productive than they have been in the past. We made significant progress on vital issues,” Khalilzad said on his Twitter account.However, he also pointed out “a number of issues left to work out,” saying that an agreement “must include an intra-Afghan dialogue and comprehensive ceasefire.”After the meetings with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, the U.S. envoy was heading to Kabul for consultation with the Afghan government.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted Saturday that Washington is “serious about pursuing peace,” reiterating objectives of preventing Afghanistan from being a space for international terrorism, as well as bringing U.S. military home.
There are about 14,000 U.S. troops currently deployed in Afghanistan, and the Trump administration reportedly planned to bring half of them home.The death toll of U.S. service members in Afghanistan has surpassed 2,400 since the United States invaded the country in 2001.
