Washington and the Afghan Taliban have approached a ceasefire agreement, the signing of which could take place at the end of February, opening up an opportunity for inter-Afghan dialogue, the Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq said Monday.
“The signing of a ceasefire agreement between the United States and the Afghan Taliban is expected later this month, which will open the way for dialogue between the Afghan parties. Thanks to the efforts of Qatar, which over the past year hosted peace talks between the Taliban and the U.S. delegation, this year can be a year of peace for Afghanistan and meet the hopes of the Afghan people to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement that will end violence and prepare for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, as well as reduce violence through a seven-day ceasefire between the Taliban and the U.S.”, – the newspaper writes.
The newspaper notes that “this move reflects a serious desire on both sides (the U.S. and the Taliban) to overcome obstacles and move forward to achieve peace, as Qatar’s efforts have helped to bring points of view closer and build trust.
Earlier CNN, citing the Pentagon, noted that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump may soon announce a violence reduction agreement with the Taliban.
The U.S. and the Taliban had been negotiating for several months in 2019. After eight rounds of negotiations, U.S. Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and a delegation of the Taliban political office in Doha agreed on a draft peace treaty, which included a ceasefire, withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and the beginning of general inter-Afghan peace talks. However, in September, following a series of terrorist attacks by the Taliban in Kabul and several other cities, in which the American military had also been victims, President Donald Trump ordered a halt to negotiations with the Taliban and cancelled the agreement.