- Tweeter
republish
This new round is the eighth since the start of talks between Americans and Taliban. Talks that began in autumn last year are being held without the presence of the Afghan government, which the Taliban deems illegitimate and still refuses to meet. Nevertheless, Taliban and Americans say they are close to an agreement whose main points are the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan against the guarantee that the country does not become a refuge for terrorist groups.
With our regional correspondent in Islamabad, Sonia Ghezali
The Taliban have said they want to reach an agreement and the United States is ready to sign a good deal, the US envoy said in a tweet on his arrival in Doha.
We are working on a peace agreement and not a withdrawal agreement, he said. A clarification that is not insignificant, as some voices in Afghanistan accuse President Donald Trump of wanting to withdraw his troops as soon as possible from Afghanistan to make it an asset in his presidential campaign in view of the ballot that will take place in 2020.
This eighth round of talks between the United States and the Taliban is a crucial moment, according to some observers. The parties have never been so close to an agreement . Several caveats, however.
The Afghan government is still excluded from these meetings. The United States, however, asserts that no agreement will be signed without the involvement of the Afghan state.
Civil society, and Afghan women on the front lines, fear losing out on an agreement that has been hastily signed to satisfy the US president's electoral ambitions at their own expense. The Taliban, present in the talks in Qatar, say that women's rights will be respected in accordance with the values of Islam, without giving more details.