US envoy shows draft of US-Taliban deal to Afghan leaders

KABUL, Afghanistan — A US envoy shows the draft of a US-Taliban agreement to Afghan leaders today after declaring they are “at the threshold” of a deal to end America’s longest war, officials say.

However, reflecting the sensitivity of the US-Taliban negotiations and the Afghan government’s sidelined role in the talks so far, it is not clear whether the draft was actually given to President Ashraf Ghani and his team.

Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met twice with Ghani after arriving Sunday evening from Qatar, where the ninth round of US-Taliban talks ended without a final agreement.

“We have reached an agreement with the Taliban in principle but of course until the US president agrees with it, it isn’t final,” Khalilzad tells the local TOLO news channel. He says that under the deal, 5,000 US troops would withdraw within 135 days from five bases in Afghanistan. Roughly 14,000 troops are currently in the country.

US President Donald Trump last week told Fox News the US plans to reduce its troop presence to 8,600 and then “make a determination from there.” He has been eager to withdraw troops before next year’s election and the draft deal easily meets that deadline.

— AP