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KABUL – The US and Taliban negotiators are close to a deal that would openthe way for peace in Afghanistan, a top US official said on Sunday.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born US diplomat overseeing negotiations forWashington, said he would travel to the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sundayfor consultations after wrapping up the ninth round of talks with Talibanofficials in Qatar.
“We are at the threshold of an agreement that will reduce violence and openthe door for Afghans to sit together to negotiate an honourable andsustainable peace and a unified, sovereign Afghanistan that does notthreaten the US, its allies, or any other country,” he said in a Twitterpost.
We are at the threshold of an agreement that will reduce violence and openthe door for Afghans to sit together to negotiate an honorable &sustainable peace and a unified, sovereign Afghanistan that does notthreaten the United States, its allies, or any other country.
— U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) August 31,2019link
Ultimately, war will only end when all sides agree it must end. All Afghansmust come together in intra-Afghan negotiations to achieve a politicalsettlement & comprehensive ceasefire. I am confident we are on the onlypractical path to reducing violence & achieving peace.
— U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) August 31,2019link
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Khalilzad gave no details of the deal, which is expected to see thousandsof US troops withdrawn from Afghanistan in exchange for guarantees by theTaliban not to allow the country to be used as a base for militant attacksabroad.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha,said both sides were in discussions to finalise technical issues.
“We are on the verge of ending the invasion and reaching a peacefulsolution for Afghanistan,” Shaheen said on Twitter.
The agreement would not on its own end the fighting between the Taliban andAfghan security forces, but would allow the start of so-called“intra-Afghan” peace talks, which are expected to be held in the Norwegiancapital of Oslo.
However, it was not clear whether the Taliban would agree to talk directlywith the Western-backed governmentlinkofPresident Ashraf Ghani, which they consider an illegitimate foreign-imposedregime.
Some Taliban officials have said they would only agree to talk to Afghanofficials in a private capacity, not as representatives of the state.APP/AFP
