Taliban Hopeful on Deal Amid New Round of Talks with U.S. by Fay Abuelgasim – AP
DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- The Taliban and Washington's peace envoy are close to reaching an agreement on U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, a spokesman for the Islamic insurgents said Tuesday amid a new round of talks with the United States.
Suhail Shaheen, the spokesman, said the deal will also include guarantees that Afghanistan will not be used again as a staging arena for anti-American attacks.
His remarks came during the second day of talks in the Qatari capital of Doha with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad who has been trying to negotiate a resolution of the 17-year war in Afghanistan, America's longest.
"If we do not reach a solution in this round of talks, then we will in the next round of talks, but that is our target," Shaheen told The Associated Press.
He said the sides in the talks are for now sticking to the two-point agenda: U.S. withdrawal and no-attacks guarantees.
The Taliban, who refuse to talk with the government in Kabul and describe it as a U.S. puppet, have long demanded direct talks with the United States but until Khalilzad's appointment last September, Washington had shied away from opening face-to-face negotiations.
Khalilzad arrived Monday for the talks in Doha and tweeted that that this could be "a significant moment" in the process…