(Washington Post)
Pamela Constable January 26, 2019 10:41 AM
KABUL — After six days of negotiations, Taliban insurgents and U.S. officials meeting in Qatar appear close to an agreement that could withdraw American troops after 17 years of war, reports said Saturday.
News agencies reporting from Doha, the Qatari capital, said the outlines of an agreement have been reached.
But it was not clear whether it would lay out a timetable for the U.S. troop pullback, as the Taliban have demanded, or a lengthy cease-fire while insurgent and Afghan leaders negotiate domestic issues, as U.S. officials have proposed.
Taliban leaders have insisted they will not stop their battles until all foreign troops have been ordered to leave.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the Trump administration’s special envoy for Afghan peace, left Doha late Saturday en route to Kabul. In a series of tweets, he said the six days of meetings were “more productive than they have been in the past. We made significant progress on vital issues.”
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