A U.S. envoy has met with the Afghan president in the capital, Kabul, to brief him on the latest round of talks with the Taliban as a deal nears on ending America’s longest war, an official said Monday, Associated Press reports.
President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman confirmed the meeting took place on Sunday night at the presidential palace, shortly after the American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, arrived from Qatar.
In Qatar, Khalilzad had held the ninth round of talks with the Taliban, which ended without a final agreement. The palace soon will release details, Sediq Sediqqi said.
Khalilzad over the weekend said the U.S. and the insurgent group are “at the threshold of an agreement” — even as the Taliban attacked the capitals of Kunduz and Baghlan provinces in the north.
“We are on the verge of ending the invasion and reaching a peaceful solution for Afghanistan,” said the Taliban spokesman in Qatar, Suhail Shaheen.