Washington
The United States has said its landmark deal with the Taliban has entered the “next phase” while urging the militants to reduce rising violence to allow Afghan peace talks to begin.
The two sides signed an agreement in February that saw Washington pledge to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by the middle of next year, in return for the insurgents promising to hold negotiations with the Afghan government to end the decades-old war. Under phase one, the US said it would reduce troops to 8,600 within 135 days, while completely removing forces from five military bases.
On the 135th day, US Special Representative on Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, who negotiated the deal for Washington, tweeted that both sides had reached a “key milestone”.“The US has worked hard to carry out 1st phase of its commitments under the agreement, including to reduce troops & depart from five bases,” he said on Monday.
