The latest round of talks between the US and the Taliban have ended with what is being called a “roadmap to peace” for Afghanistan. The agreement is non-binding, but points toward a formal agreement being not far down the road.
The talks effectively have an agreement on the US withdrawal and the
Taliban fighting against ISIS and al-Qaeda, and commits both sides to a
deal to end civilian casualties and negotiate with the Afghan government
on power-sharing.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the head US negotiator, is expressing hopes
that the deal will ultimately be finalized by September 1. This would
be the day for signing the deal, though when everything would be
implemented is still unclear.
A final deal is expected to both put a timeline to everything, and
provide some mechanism of international guarantors for the peace deal,
ending 18 years of US-led occupation of Afghanistan.
US, Taliban Agree on ‘Roadmap to Peace’ for Afghanistan
Khalilzad seeks final agreement by September 1
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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