Al-Jazeera correspondent in Afghanistan quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid that the eighth round of negotiations between the Taliban and the United States ended last night in the Qatari capital Doha.

Mujahid described the negotiations as constructive and long, noting that both parties will consult with their leaders on the next steps.

A Reuters member of the Taliban negotiating team in Doha said a final agreement could not be reached in the eighth round.

"We have prolonged our meeting in the hope of reaching a peace agreement but it was not possible," Talabani said. "We discussed a number of issues and reached consensus on some of them, but we did not reach a final conclusion."

A Taliban spokesman last week predicted a final deal would be reached in the eighth round of Doha negotiations.

A Taliban official also said earlier that Washington and the group had resolved differences in peace negotiations over the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, but disagreed on setting a timetable to start withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Previous rounds have focused on two key points: the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, and the Taliban have vowed that their country will not be a launching pad for terrorist attacks.

Washington wants a possible peace deal to include a ceasefire and negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government for power-sharing, although the group still refuses to negotiate with the authorities in Kabul as a "puppet" of the Americans.

Earlier this month, US officials confirmed that their country plans to reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan from the current 14 thousand to nearly 9 thousand within a few months, under an initial peace agreement with the Taliban.

Earlier this month, CNN quoted US sources as saying that the Trump administration is seeking to reduce the number of its diplomats in Kabul as part of arrangements for a possible peace deal with the Taliban.