...Arabic for
students...
in Doha and is now heading to Washington for consultations.
Apparently, disagreements on a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops and counter-terrorism measures are preventing the two sides from reaching a final agreement. The Taliban are also refusing to hold face-to-face talks with the US-backed government in Kabul.
The fifth round of US-Taliban talks began in Doha, Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi..., on Feb 24 but were paused for two days on Feb 27 to give both sides time for consultations on issues relevant to the negotiations.
"Just finished a marathon round of talks with the Taliban in Doha. 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," Ambassador Khalilzad wrote.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the veteran diplomat, who is heading Washington’s efforts for reconciliation in Afghanistan, also underlined the issues that are preventing the two sides from concluding a final deal.
"Peace requires agreement on four issues: counter-terrorism assurances, troop withdrawal, intra-Afghan dialogue, and a comprehensive ceasefire," he wrote.
Mr Khalilzad recalled that in January the US and Taliban delegates had "agreed in principle" on these four elements. "We’re now ’agreed in draft’ on the first two," he added.
"When the agreement in draft about a withdrawal timeline and effective counter-terrorism measures is finalised, the Taliban and other Afghans, including the government, will begin intra-Afghan negotiations on a political settlement and comprehensive ceasefire," he wrote.