Longest round of US-Taliban talks ends with progress, but no breakthrough

US top negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, said that the sides “agreed in draft” on troop withdrawal and counter-terrorism assurances, but it was not finalized.
He said that after the agreement in draft was finalized, the Taliban and other Afghans, including the government, would begin intra-Afghan negotiations on a political settlement and comprehensive ceasefire.
The envoy said his next step is discussions in Washington and consultation with other partners.
“The conditions for peace have improved. It’s clear all sides want to end the war. Despite ups and downs, we kept things on track and made real strides,” Khalilzad said on Twitter.
US and Taliban negotiators have multiple rounds of talks to end the war. Khalilzad said that in the previous talks in January, the sides agreed in principle on the mentioned four elements.
The latest round of talks that took 16 days included also Taliban’s political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Brother for the first time.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement said that the sides made progress on foreign troops withdrawal and preventing future attacks on other countries from Afghanistan.
The statement, however, said no agreement was reached regarding a ceasefire and talks with the Afghan government.
After the end of talks, President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman tweeted: “We welcome U.S. efforts in Afghan peace process. We hope to witness a long term comprehensive ceasefire with the Taliban, and hope that direct negotiations of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban begin soon.”
Meanwhile, US State Department said that “meaningful progress” was achieved in recent talks with the Taliban in Doha.
“The Taliban have agreed that peace will require both sides to fully address four core issues, and they are counterterrorism assurances, troop withdrawal, intra-Afghan dialogue and a comprehensive cease-fire,”said Robert Palladino, a spokesman for US State Department.