A senior American official said that the United States and the Taliban have reached a truce agreement that will enter into force very soon, and could lead to the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

The US official mentioned a seven-day agreement to reduce violence, followed by the start of Afghan peace talks within ten days.

He also indicated that Washington will monitor the situation, and will move to the stage of concluding an agreement with the Taliban in the event that the armistice is not violated.

The official stressed that the peace talks are wide and cover all Afghan lands, noting that President Donald Trump views positively the agreement with the Taliban.

He added that the American forces will withdraw from Afghanistan within 18 months, if the talks between the United States and the Taliban go as planned.

The announcement came a day after Trump said there was a "good opportunity" to reach an agreement with the Taliban to reduce US forces in Afghanistan.

These developments come as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met in Munich on the sidelines of the security summit, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esber, US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Commander of US forces in Afghanistan, where they discussed recent developments regarding the peace agreement in Afghanistan.

An agreement to withdraw a large number of troops would be a boost for Trump, who has repeatedly pledged to end "endless wars" as he seeks to elect him to a second term in November.

Afghanistan has seen since the US invasion in 2001 a conflict between the Taliban and government and international forces led by the United States, causing thousands of civilian casualties.

The US delegation led by Special Envoy for Reconciliation in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has been negotiating with the Taliban mainly in Qatar since late 2018. In September, Trump suddenly suspended talks in response to a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed an American soldier.

The Taliban control or compete to control half of the area of ​​Afghanistan, which is more than ever since the movement was toppled in 2001.

The United States now has about 13,000 out of 23,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, a significant drop from the largest number of 100,000 in 2011.