US and Taliban Near Ceasefire Agreement to Reduce Violence

Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, attending the Munich Security Conference.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The AP news agency reported on the 14th (local time), citing a senior U.S. administration official, that the United States and the Afghan armed rebel group Taliban are soon expected to reach a ceasefire agreement.

The senior U.S. official stated at the Munich Security Conference that a very concrete agreement on 'violence reduction' has been made. According to the official, the ceasefire agreement between the two sides will take the form of starting full-scale peace talks within 10 days if a 7-day 'violence reduction' period is achieved. The agency reported that an official announcement could be made as early as this weekend.

According to the agency, if the Taliban fulfills its promise to halt acts such as suicide bombings, the 'violence reduction' agreement will lead to the signing of an agreement to start peace talks including all Afghan factions, including government forces.

On the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani attended the Munich Security Conference and held separate talks.

A Taliban official also said that the signing of the second agreement could take place on the 29th of this month, and that dialogue among Afghan factions would begin on March 10, the agency reported. The Taliban side stated that the withdrawal of foreign troops will begin gradually and be carried out in stages over 18 months.

The Trump administration has been negotiating with the Taliban while pushing to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan from the current approximately 13,000 to around 8,600.

The United States and the Taliban began negotiations in mid-2018 and prepared a draft peace agreement last September that included partial withdrawal of U.S. troops, but failed to formally sign it.