After three months of halt, the talks between Washington and Taliban in Qatar resumed on Saturday, a source told AFP. In September, United States President Donald Trump abruptly halted the diplomatic efforts that could have ended more than a decade old war.
“The US rejoined talks today in Doha. The focus of discussion will be reduction of violence that leads to intra-Afghan negotiations and a ceasefire,” the source said.
The US and the Taliban had reached on the verge of signing a deal that would have seen Washington begin withdrawing thousands of troops in return for security guarantees.
If the deal was signed, a link for direct interaction between the Taliban and the Kabul government would have established. It could have resulted in a peace agreement after more than 18 years of war.
Donald trump surprisingly called the year-long effort dead and withdrew an invitation to the insurgents to join secret talks at his US retreat at Camp David. Trump’s decision came after the killing of an American soldier.
Perhaps, during a surprise visit to a US military base in Afghanistan last week, Trump said that the Taliban wants to make a deal.