KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan Taliban leaders have held meetings with senior US officials in Doha since the beginning of last week, while US President Donald Trump has announced the resumption of peace negotiations with the group.
Reuters quoted Taliban commanders as saying the group could resume formal peace talks soon.
The US President Donald Trump announced the resumption of peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, during his first visit to Afghanistan. Less than three months after it was discontinued.
The announcement of the resumption of negotiations during a meeting held by Trump with his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani at the Bagram military base on the sidelines of a surprise visit, the first of its kind by the US president to Afghanistan, where he congratulated on the occasion of "Thanksgiving" to the troops of his country there.
Earlier, Trump's plane landed at Bagram air base - the main center of US air operations outside the Afghan capital Kabul - after leaving Florida secretly on an unannounced flight.
American optimism
"The Taliban want an agreement, and we are meeting them," Trump was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
Trump said he believed the Taliban would abide by the ceasefire, noting that much progress had been made in the last six months.
He also said that even as US forces were reduced in Afghanistan, significant progress had been made in dismantling IS and al-Qaeda. He said he hoped to reduce his country's troops from 12,000 or 13,000 to 8,600.
It is noteworthy that Trump had announced in early September last to stop talks with the Taliban, and canceled talks with leaders of the movement was secretly prepared at Camp David.
The US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad nine rounds of negotiations with the movement in the Qatari capital Doha, without disclosing much of its facts.
The Taliban, which controls nearly half of the country, launch almost daily attacks against the government.