'Meaningful progress' made in U.S.-Taliban peace talks

The United States and the Afghan Taliban made "meaningful progress" in recent talks and concluded that peace will require agreement on four main issues, including counterterrorism, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

"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," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said. He said U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad was returning to Washington for consultations.