US President Donald Trump has said that his country is in good peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, but so far no agreement has been reached, pointing to the reduction in the number of troops in Afghanistan.
Speaking to reporters before leaving the White House for the Camp David resort for the weekend, Trump said the negotiation process with the Taliban was good, but the two sides had not yet reached an agreement.
"We have reduced the number of our troops in Afghanistan to about 8,600," Trump said. "We have good relations with many people there, and the course of our negotiations with the Taliban is good, but we have not reached an agreement.
In the meantime, Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski and Republican Mike Gallagher sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, calling on the US administration to deal transparently with any anticipated settlement with the Taliban, and to ensure that Congress has the full text of any agreement to be signed with the movement.
The letter stipulated that any agreement with the Taliban should include full verification of its links with all those described as "terrorist allies".
The Taliban said on Wednesday it was close to a deal with Washington under which US troops would withdraw from Afghanistan in return for a pledge by the Taliban that the country would not become a safe haven for insurgents.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shahin told Al Jazeera on the sidelines of a new round of negotiations in Doha that the group and the US delegation were about to reach an agreement.
He added that the transition will be agreed upon after signing an agreement with the United States and entering into an Afghan dialogue.
The two sides have been holding negotiations since late last year in the Qatari capital Doha on how to end the war, where the ninth round of talks began last week.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy for peace in Afghanistan, is due to travel to Kabul this week for a meeting with Afghan leaders.