A peace accord to end America's 18-year-war in
Afghanistan is close to completion the
Taliban said, with a rough draft being proof read and translated before its is signed off. Donald Trump's chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, will leave officials to complete final details in Doha, and fly to
Kabul to brief the Afghan government. He is then expected to head to
Brussels to brief
Nato allies before any deal is signed and announced, sources familiar with negotiations said. "We hope to have good news soon for our Muslim, independence seeking nation," said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha. Details of the accord will not be announced until it is complete, but sources briefed on the talks said it is expected to see America withdraw troops over around 15 months, but only if security conditions on the ground are met. The Taliban will give guarantees Afghan soil will not become a launchpad for attacks by transnational terrorist groups, though it is unclear how that will be verified. They will also begin talks with Afghan leaders to discuss a wider political settlement. The Afghan government controls little over half the country despite 18 years of US support Credit: Jim Huylebroek for the Telegraph The talks have failed to agree on a broad ceasefire however or whether America will keep a permanent counter-terrorism force in the country to continue targeting
Islamic State group and al-Qaeda. Both issues had been “kicked down the road to later talks”. Talks between the Taliban and Afghan politicians could now begin quickly and international officials are already beginning preparations for a meeting in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. Taliban and
American envoys have spent more than a year trying to reach a settlement, meeting for nine rounds of talks. Any accord is unlikely to quickly stop bloodshed in what has become the world's deadliest conflict. The Taliban have until now refused formal talks with the Afghan government, who they consider a US puppet regime, and have refused a truce against the Afghan forces. Critics of Mr Trump's peace process warn it is a fig leaf to allow him to withdraw and it will fatally undermine the negotiating hand of the Afghan government as it tries to bargain with the Taliban.