According to reports released Friday, the United States and the Afghan Taliban have agreed to reduce hostilities for seven days. The seven-day clock to reduce violence “has not yet begun” but will be activated “very soon,” the official said. Others said it could start in a few days. On Friday, the Taliban agreed to reduce the attacks by seven days. If the agreement is reached, the United States and the Taliban will sign an agreement Saturday to begin the process of withdrawing U.S. troops. If the reduction of violence (RIV), monitored by US forces, is considered a success, it will result, in addition to the signing of 29 February in Qatar, between the American special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban. The agreement aims at a gradual U.S. military withdrawal – including ceasefires and talks between the Taliban and other Afghans over the country`s future. The Taliban have accepted a seven-day U.S.
request to reduce violence in Afghanistan, which could pave the way for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, a senior Trump administration official told reporters friday. “Some good news could come,” White House National Security Adviser Robert O`Brien told the Atlantic Council on Tuesday. “There will be a reduction in violence and sensible inter-Afghan discussions.” Javid Faisal, a spokesman for The Afghan National Security Adviser, said the reduction in violence would take a week. The withdrawal was an important foreign policy priority for President Trump, who this week approved the nascent but still tentative plan. Trump canceled a previous deal reached in September between the United States and the Taliban and said the talks were “dead” after the Taliban made “a big mistake” with an attack that resulted in the death of a U.S. soldier. “The agreement on reducing violence is very specific,” the official said.
“There are details… Roadside bombs, suicide bombs, rocket fire. U.S., Afghan and Taliban troops will all monitor the scale of the violence and “pose problems when they occur,” the official said. “Of course, we have a lot of ways to monitor the situation in Afghanistan.” As it stands, the “reducing violence” agreement consists of a near week of peace, “almost like a ceasefire,” according to a former Afghan official with a deal with the talks.
