The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan said Saturday that for the first time he can report "substantive" progress on all four issues key to a peace agreement in the country's 17-year war, calling the latest round of talks with the Taliban the "most productive" so far. Zalmay Khalilzad
1 / 3Afghanistan Peace TalksFILE - In this Feb. 8, 2019, file photo, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. A fresh round of talks between the U.S. and the Taliban is to begin in Qatar Saturday, June 29, just days after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington is hoping for an Afghan peace agreement before Sept. 1. KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S.
So far, the Taliban have refused to talk directly with the current Afghan government, considering it a U.S. puppet. The insurgents, however, have consistently said they will sit down with any Afghan, even a government official, but as an ordinary citizen and not as a government representative. In a press briefing in Doha, where he has been meeting the Taliban, Khalilzad said he hoped that all-Afghan talks that begin Sunday — also in Doha — will be a precursor to negotiations to hammer out the framework for Afghanistan's post-war future — what he called the"actual give and take about the future of the country, the political roadmap that will take place during negotiations."
A visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, at the end of last month seemed to give fresh impetus to peace efforts and Sept. 1 emerged as a target date for a peace deal to end America's longest running military engagement. Khalilzad said the atmosphere during recent talks was the best yet, with both sides finding shared humor as opposed to previous talks which had on occasion ended in acrimony, shouting and the occasional walk out.
The list includes senior members of the government, former mujahedeen who fought the Soviet in the 1980s as well as former government officials, former ambassadors, civil society representatives and a small number of women.
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