US-Taliban talks: Pompeo hails 'pretty important breakthrough'
43 minutes ago Thursday February 13, 2020

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says there has been a "pretty important breakthrough" in peace talks with the Taliban in recent days.

Mr Pompeo said President Donald Trump had given the go-ahead for further talks.

The two sides have long been engaged in negotiations aimed at ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan.

But they have been fraught with challenges, with Mr Trump declaring the talks "dead" in September.

Mr Pompeo on Thursday hailed recent progress, but said the negotiations were complicated and that a peace deal had not yet been reached.

His comments came after US Defence Secretary Mark Esper told reporters that the two sides had "negotiated a proposal" for a "seven-day reduction in violence".

Some 13,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan after the US intervention to oust the Taliban in 2001.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51494921