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  • Afghanistan, Taliban: agreement with the US signed in Doha by the end of the month

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February 29, 2020 The U.S. and its allies will withdraw all their forces from Afghanistan within 14 months. This is what the joint declaration signed in Doha by the United States and the Taliban provides. After a first troop reduction to 8,600 within 135 days of signing, the United States and its partners "will complete the withdrawal of their remaining forces within 14 months".

The text, negotiated for a year and a half in Qatar, was signed by Washington's chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the Taliban political leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar. For the occasion, the head of American diplomacy, Mike Pompeo, also arrived in Doha.

The agreement signed in Doha, Qatar, aims to restore peace to Afghanistan after almost 19 years of conflict and will be followed by the opening of a peace table between Taliban Islamist militants and the Afghan government.

"The coalition will complete the withdrawal of the remaining forces in Afghanistan within 14 months of the announcement of this joint declaration and the US-Taliban agreement, provided that the Taliban respect their commitments", reads the statement released by the US and Afghan governments . In the more than 18 years of the war, more than 2,400 American soldiers have been killed. About 12 thousand are still in the country.

Pompeo to the Taliban: stop ties with Al Qaeda
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, in Doha for the signing of the agreement, asked the Taliban to "respect the promise to cut ties with Al Qaeda".

Use: away from agreement if Taliban do not respect him
The US "will not hesitate to cancel" the historic Doha agreement if the Taliban do not respect the agreement. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said so in Doha.