NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2018) The results of the recent round of US-Taliban talks will manifest themselves by 2019, a source in the Afghan administration told Sputnik on Friday.
On Monday, the talks on the Afghan peace settlement between the Taliban movement and the United States were launched in the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates as well as the official delegation from Kabul also participated in the meeting.
"At these meetings, positive results were achieved for all participants, which, we hope, will manifest themselves by the beginning of next year," the source said without elaborating.
Following the Monday talks, media reported, citing Taliban officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that the US delegation had proposed that the Taliban conclude a truce for a period of six months, join the government of national unity and become part of the political system of Afghanistan.
The Taliban, for its part, demanded that the United States release all imprisoned members of the group, lift the ban on their movement, remove the Names of the Taliban leaders from the international "black lists" and also announce a specific date for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, according to the sources.
Earlier on Wednesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid refuted this information. The talks are still underway.
Afghanistan has long been in a state of turmoil, with the government fighting the Taliban radical movement, which has been holding vast territories in rural areas under its control and regularly launches offensives on key big cities. The situation has been exacerbated by the activities of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia), which has been operating in Afghanistan since 2015.
