WASHINGTON - US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has said that the United States believes a peace agreement with the Taliban could be reached before the Afghan presidential election that is slated to take place on July 20.
Speaking at the US Institute of Peace on Friday, Khalilzad said “Between now and July there is sufficient time I believe where we could reach an agreement,” Khalilzad said when asked if a deal could be reached by the Afghan presidential election.
Zalmay said that although his talks with the Taliban have produced a tentative “framework” agreement, the negotiations have a long way to go to achieve peace.
He said that there is time to make a final deal before Afghanistan’s presidential election in July. But he also stressed that many issues remain to be resolved and that it must be a package deal.
He described the present state of negotiations as having taken two or three steps on a long journey.
He said the Taliban’s top priority is the withdrawal of US troops, whereas the top US objective is ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a haven for extremists like Al-Qaeda.
