US, Taliban expected to sign peace deal by February-end

Peace talks with the U.S. have been completed and an agreement is expected to be signed at the end of February, a Taliban leader told local media.

Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi, a senior Taliban leader and member of the negotiation team, told the Afghanistan-based Nunn.asia website Monday that the two sides have completed peace talks in Doha.

"The agreement will be signed in Doha at the end of this month in the presence of the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the European Union and representatives of Afghanistan's neighboring countries," said Hanafi.

Before the agreement is signed, there will be a reduction in violence to create a proper atmosphere for the signing ceremony, he added.

On Friday, U.S. media reported that Washington and the Taliban had reached an agreement to reduce hostilities for seven days which will begin on Feb. 22.

"After signing the agreement, the U.S. and the Afghan government will release 5,000 Taliban prisoners while we will free 1,000 prisoners who are in our captivity," Hanafi explained

The intra Afghan dialogue will begin after completion of the prisoners-related process, he added.

However, Hanafi did not share more details about the proposed deal and the agreed timeframe for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

On Sunday, U.S. top envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad also termed his Doha's talks fruitful and said he arrived in Munich to meet the partners.

"After a prolonged fruitful trip to #Doha, I’ve been at #MunichSecurityConf for the last two days. Good to see many familiar faces and to have an opportunity to update partners. We also discussed next steps committed to work together on the difficult complicated road ahead," Khalilzad tweeted.

Khalilzad also met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and briefed him over the latest updates of peace agreement with Taliban.

"Good to meet with Pres @AshrafGhani again today in #Munich. We spoke about the opportunity of this reduction in violence the imperative of preparing for an inclusive #AfghanPeaceProcess. We urge all Afghans to seize the moment end the misery of more than four decades of war," Khalilzad said.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had spoke with the Afghan president and informed him by phone about the progress in peace talks with Taliban

“This is a welcoming development, and I am pleased that our principal position on peace thus far has begun to yield fruitful results. Our primary objective is to end the senseless bloodshed,” Ghani tweeted after Pompeo's phone call.

The agreement between the U.S. and Taliban, that was nearly signed in September last year, sets the timetable for the U.S. exit from Afghanistan in exchange for the Taliban safeguards that the country does not become a hotbed for terrorist groups and beginning talks with Ghani’s government.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump canceled the proposed peace deal with the insurgents at the last minute over the killing of a U.S. soldier in the Afghan capital Kabul.