Governance-US hails talks with Taliban, denies troop withdrawal window
- Country:
- Afghanistan
A US official says the latest round of talks with the Taliban, now in their second week, has been "very productive," while strenuously denying Washington sought a fixed deadline for the withdrawal of its estimated 14,000 troops from Afghanistan. A member of the American negotiating team in Qatar's capital, Doha, where the Taliban maintain a political office and talks are being held, told The Associated Press Friday that the U.S. "definitely did not offer" an 18-month withdrawal as part of a peace deal.
Speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the talks, the U.S. negotiator was responding to a timeframe Taliban officials told the AP months earlier. Also on Saturday, prominent Afghan figures were headed to Qatar ahead of much-anticipated all-Afghan talks to begin on Sunday.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- READ MORE ON:
- Washington
- Taliban
- Kabul
- troops
- Afghanistan
- Qatar
- negotiating team
- peace deal
- Doha
- negotiator
ALSO READ
Without Citizenship (Amendment) Act, what fate would have befallen Sikhs who came from Afghanistan: PM Modi at rally in Nanded.
Afghanistan: Amid health sector challenges, Turkish doctors arrive in Kabul for free pediatric care
Russia and the Taliban: Here’s why Putin wants to get closer to Afghanistan’s current rulers
Qatari Amir to visit Nepal for two-day state visit
Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, UAE sign preliminary deal to cooperate on Development Road project