US, Taliban reach agreement to reduce violence opening door to troop withdrawal deal
It's unclear when the interim deal will be implemented.
By
Conor Finnegan
February 14, 2020, 10:57 AM
The United States and Taliban reached an agreement on Friday to reduce violence, which could open the door to the two sides finalizing the larger deal reached last year, per a senior State Department official.
That larger deal would require U.S. forces to begin to withdraw, in exchange for a Taliban commitment to not allow Afghanistan to be a safe haven for terrorism and to sit down with other Afghans for peace talks.
But first, the Taliban must follow through on this seven-day reduction in violence. While it's not a full ceasefire, the senior State Dept. official said it is nationwide, including Afghan government forces.
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