The U.S. envoy to Afghanistan was optimistic on Monday that peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban will begin, saying that President Donald Trump could even speed up the withdrawal of American troops if all goes well.
"There has been a lot of progress in recent days," said Zalmay Khalilzad in a telephone conversation with journalists.
Washington signed an agreement with the Taliban on February 29 that called for the immediate opening of unprecedented direct peace negotiations between the insurgents and the Afghan government, as well as the departure of foreign forces by mid-2021.
Read also: The American withdrawal from Afghanistan already well underway
The US military has started to withdraw, but inter-Afghan talks have so far remained unheeded, violence has escalated, and the peace process appears to be on the verge of derailment.
Several events, however, seem to have put him back on track: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has reached an agreement with his rival Abdullah Abdullah, and the latter, appointed chief negotiator, said he was ready to start discussions "at any time" ; Kabul also accelerated the release of Taliban prisoners, prior to the start of talks; and an unprecedented ceasefire was observed during the holiday which marks the end of Ramadan and followed by a lull.
Read also: Afghanistan: the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement after 18 years of war
"Many people were pessimistic about the possibility of holding inter-Afghan negotiations, and about the capacity to make enough progress on the issue of prisoners," noted the US envoy. However, he refused to advance a date. "Much remains to be done " on prisoner exchanges, he warned.
US officials have said that the withdrawal of the US Army is already ahead of schedule. American media has reported that the Pentagon had prepared, among the options available, for a possible withdrawal by the end of the year - which would coincide with the presidential election in the United States.
