Taliban Say Tentatively Agreed With US On Time Frame For Foreign Troop Pullout

The Taliban and the United States have reached a tentative agreement on a time frame for foreign troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the movement's chief spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said amid the ongoing peace talks in Doha

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th August, 2019) The Taliban and the United States have reached a tentative agreement on a time frame for foreign troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the movement's chief spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said amid the ongoing peace talks in Doha.

On Thursday, the US delegation and Taliban started their ninth round of talks in the Qatari capital.

"We have an agreement on a time frame for the withdrawal. Discussions are now focused on its implementation mechanism," Shaheen told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper late on Friday.

He, however, declined to reveal the time frame, noting that it would be publicly announced once the sides agreed on the implementation mechanism itself.

The Al Jazeera broadcaster, meanwhile, reported that the Taliban and United States have agreed on a governance in Afghanistan during a nine-month transition period.

The United States and Taliban are attempting to reach a peace deal that would include the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the movement's guarantee that the country would not be used as a safe haven for terrorists.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stressed his interest in US troop drawdown in Afghanistan, pledging, however, to leave "very strong intelligence" in the country, which he describes as a "lab for terrorists."