The United States envoy to talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan has presented the Afghan president a draft agreement between the parties and says that after months of negotiations, the parties are close to signing an agreement that will end the war.
Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad called it an agreement in principle, emphasizing that it's not final without President Donald Trump's approval. Trump's ambition is to bring back the last American troops from Afghanistan before the US presidential election in about a year. Under the agreement, the US will evacuate five bases in Afghanistan in six months, bringing home at least 5,000 of the 14,000 troops stationed in the country. The Taliban pledge that they will not allow other terrorist organizations to settle in Afghanistan.