The top diplomat tweeted: “Productive week in Washington. Briefed management on where we are and next steps. Back on the road again.
“First stop Doha where we will try and close on remaining issues. We are ready. Let’s see if the Taliban are as well,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, the State Department said Khalilzad would resume talks with the Taliban in Qatar as part of an overall effort to facilitate a peace process that ends the conflict in Afghanistan.”
Khalilzad will consult with leaders of the Afghan government in Kabul and encourage negotiations between the two sides, the State Department added.
The envoy on Friday briefed President Donald Trump on the status of negotiations with the Taliban on a US troop pullout and the potential for a political settlement between the warring sides.
Two days later, Trump told reporters that the United States was having “very good discussions” both with Taliban and the Afghan government.
Taliban’s political office spokesman Sohail Shaheen told Pajhwok Afghan News Khalilzad was due in Qatar for talks on the issues that were yet to be settled.
He said they had consulted with their leaders about the 8th round of talks and their views would be discussed in the 9th round.
A diplomatic source in Qatar, wishing anonymity, told Pajhwok that talks between Taliban representative and Khalilzad would start tomorrow (Thursday).
According to the source, Khalilzad has shared with the Afghan government details of the ongoing talks during his recent trip to Kabul and a possible deal would be signed next week.
sa/mud
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