Having wrapped up the fifth round of Qatar talks between the US and the Taliban, US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad reported “real strides” were made in the negotiations, which ended off with draft agreements on two key issues.
Khalilzad said that the deal is built around four elements, the main two
being the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and a Taliban guarantee to
prevent al-Qaeda and ISIS from operating within Afghanistan. These two
elements are the ones that are agreed to in the draft.
Beyond that, the two elements agreed in principle but not draft are
dialogue between Taliban and the Afghan government, along with the
comprehensive ceasefire. No deal has been signed on any of these
matters.
But Khalilzad suggested that the draft includes a timeline for the US
withdrawal, which was a big sticking point. He didn’t say what that
timeline is, but the Taliban wanted the US out within a year, and the
Pentagon was planning for a five year drawdown at a snail’s pace.
US-Taliban Talks End With Draft Agreement
US envoy says 'real strides' made in talks
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