US - Taliban ceasefire for 7 days
(Baonghean.vn) - The US and the Taliban have reached a temporary agreement, under which the Taliban pledges to refrain from violent attacks for seven days. If this temporary agreement is fully implemented, the two sides will move towards signing a comprehensive peace agreement on February 29, paving the way for the US to withdraw all its forces from Afghanistan.
The interim deal between the US and the Taliban was reached after lengthy discussions in the Qatari capital Doha and was announced during a meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
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| US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a ceasefire agreement on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Photo: AP |
The truce is a major milestone in efforts to end the longest conflict in which the United States has fought, and carries out US President Donald Trump's campaign to withdraw US troops from overseas conflicts.
According to a senior US official, the interim agreement requires a reduction in violence across Afghanistan within seven days. In particular, the Taliban commits to stopping suicide bombings and rocket attacks. The US side affirms that it has enough resources and intelligence to verify the implementation of the Taliban's commitment to reduce violence.
An official announcement of the ceasefire agreement is likely to be made by the US and the Taliban today or tomorrow, and if the Taliban fulfills its commitments, a peace agreement between the US and the Taliban will be signed within 10 days.
The peace deal would include a nationwide ceasefire, a Taliban pledge not to harbor terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, and a timeline for the US to begin withdrawing troops from the Taliban.
Meanwhile, information from the Taliban said that the signing of the peace agreement has been set for February 29, after which internal negotiations between Afghan forces will begin from March 10.
Germany and Norway have proposed hosting intra-Afghan talks, but the final venue has yet to be decided. However, the Taliban have also demanded that the Afghan government release 5,000 Taliban prisoners before starting intra-Afghan talks.
For the Taliban, the internal talks are a chance for the group to gain political legitimacy for the first time since it took power in the late 1990s.