DOHA, Qatar—U.S. and Taliban negotiators wrapped up their longest round of consecutive peace talks on March 12 with progress made but no agreement on when foreign troops might withdraw, officials from both sides said.
The 16 days of talks, in which the United States also sought assurances that the Taliban would not allow militant groups to use Afghanistan to stage attacks, are expected to resume in late March.
The negotiations in Doha, Qatar included the Taliban’s political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and a U.S. team led by special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.
Khalilzad, the Afghan-born U.S. diplomat, said the sides made progress on discussions about counter-terrorism assurances and a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The conditions for peace have improved. It’s clear all sides want to end the war. Despite ups and downs, we kept things on track and made real strides,” Khalilzad said on Twitter.
The Taliban have held multiple rounds of peace talks with the American team led by Khalilzad but have so far rejected the offer to discuss the issue with the Afghan government.
Some Progress
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the sides made progress on the issues of withdrawing foreign forces and preventing future attacks on other countries from Afghanistan.But, in a statement, he stressed that no agreement was reached on a ceasefire or talks with the Afghan government.
A spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani tweeted that he hoped to see a long-term ceasefire agreement and the start of direct talks between the government and Taliban soon.
The talks were held in a closed-off banquet hall at the five-star Ritz-Carlton seaside hotel on the southern end of Doha.
Khalilzad said he would return to Washington to brief U.S. and international officials.
Talks ended on a day in which Taliban insurgents stepped up pressure on the battlefield, killing 20 Afghan soldiers and capturing another 20 in western Afghanistan. In another province, officials said an airstrike killed both Taliban and civilians.
About 14,000 U.S. troops are based in Afghanistan as part of a U.S.-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces. Some U.S. forces carry out counter-terrorism operations.
The United States has also been pushing the Taliban to agree to a ceasefire and to talk with Afghanistan’s government, which the militant group considers a U.S. puppet regime.
“The U.S. officials were pressing the Taliban to declare a ceasefire, but our leaders were clear that a ceasefire can only be announced after the foreign force withdrawal announcement (is) made,” said a senior Taliban commander privy to the talks.
Another Taliban source said on condition of anonymity there was frustration on some issues during the peace talks and that a senior member of the Islamist group told U.S. officials at one point that the Taliban are “not their servants” and need no U.S. approval for any future decisions.
