The US State Department on Wednesday said that Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad “will rejoin the talks with the Taliban in Doha to discuss steps that could lead to intra-Afghan negotiations and a peaceful settlement to the ongoing conflict in the country.”
The statement read: “In Kabul, Special Representative Khalilzad will meet with Afghan government representatives and other Afghan leaders to follow up on President Trump’s recent visit and to discuss how best to support accelerated efforts to get all parties to intra-Afghan negotiations. In Doha, Ambassador Khalilzad will rejoin talks with the Taliban to discuss steps that could lead to intra-Afghan negotiations and a peaceful settlement of the war, specifically a reduction in violence that leads to a ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, Khalilzad met with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday and the two sides exchanged views related to the peace process, including “the prospect for a ceasefire as a result of a peace agreement and the issue of Taliban’s sanctuaries outside Afghanistan,” the Palace tweeted.
Earlier on Wednesday Khalilzad tweeted that the recent campaign in Nangarhar is “an example” of “major progress” against ISIS-K (Daesh) and that operations by US/coalition, Afghan forces and Taliban against (Daesh) have caused the group to lose “territory and fighters.”
“Hundreds (of Daesh fighters) surrendered. “ISIS-K (Daesh) hasn’t been eliminated but this is real progress,” Khalilzad said.
