Afghan peace talks may produce positive outcome in the ‘near term’: Top U.S. General

Army General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff made the remarks after arriving in Afghanistan on Wednesday, according to Reuters. “I think the chances of a positive outcome through negotiations is higher than I have seen, and I’ve been deeply involved in Afghanistan for 18 years,” he said.
Gen. Milley further added “With a bit of luck, we’ll have successful negotiations in the near term, not too distant future.”
He also added that work remained to actually see a positive outcome. “A lot of time in situations like this, two steps forward one step back.”
This comes as the Taliban group released two western professors and 10 Afghan soldiers nearly ten days ago after the Afghan government released three senior Haqqani Network leaders including Anas Haqqani.
The exchange of prisoners raised hopes for the revival of peace talks and intra-Afghan negotiations to find a peaceful solution to end the conflict in Afghanistan.
“We join families of Kevin King & Tim Weeks in celebrating their release from Taliban captivity. Thanks to President Ghani for his courageous support,” The U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Twitter post after the release of prisoners.
He added “Let’s hope this leads to more good things on the peace front like a ceasefire that will help end this long war. Proud of my team!”
President Trump called off peace talks with Taliban following a series of deadly Taliban attacks which killed several people including an American soldier in the month of September.