The recent progress achieved in Afghan peace talks between the United States and the Taliban is encouraging, Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told reporters on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2019) The recent progress achieved in Afghan peace talks between the United States and the Taliban is encouraging, Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told reporters on Monday."Really the takeaway right now ... it's encouraging and we'll let Secretary [of State Michael] Pompeo and the ambassador [US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad] be the spokespersons for that," Shanahan said when asked about a tentative deal, as quoted by the Military Times.
Shanahan said that at this point in the negotiations, he has not received any directives to scale back the number of US troops deployed in Afghanistan, the report said.
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad on Monday confirmed that recent talks between the United States and the Taliban in Qatar had made significant progress on vital issues.
Khalilzad told the�New York Times in an interview that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle on a framework for a peace deal that would see foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan over a period of 18 months. The agreement is yet to be signed, and the dates of its implementation remain unclear.
While most US troops left Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Washington continues to support the Afghan armed forces in combating terrorism.
