US and Taliban discuss withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by July

United States Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad has arrived in Kabul, TOLOnews television channel reports

TOLOnews TV channel, citing its own sources, has reported that the United States and the radical Taliban are discussing the possibility of completing the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in mid-summer, rather than by early September.

According to the source, the talks between U.S. and Taliban representatives are to complete the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan by early July. One of the sources indicated that the Taliban did not agree to the US deadline for withdrawal in September, so “a new deadline should be set in the middle of this period”.

It is also pointed out that if the parties reach an agreement on this issue, the Taliban will return to talks (with representatives of official Afghan authorities) and will be ready to attend an international conference in Turkey on resolving the situation in Afghanistan.

“US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul a few hours ago, who, as the channel notes, intends to discuss the upcoming conference in Turkey and other issues related to the peace process with the country’s leadership”, –  the TASS report said.