For Americans and Afghan Taliban enemies alike, peace does not exist, there is only evidence of peace. That’s why they preferred to start with a seven-day armed truce that began on Friday, February 21, across Afghan territory, and is a source of great hope in the country and around the world. It should make it possible to assess the seriousness of each of the two delegations to respect its commitments and put an end to 18 years of war. It is the first concrete act obtained since the opening, in the summer of 2018, of an exclusive peace negotiation between the United States and the main Afghan insurgent movement. If no major incident disturbs the silence for seven days, the two sides have agreed to meet in Doha, Qatar, to sign a formal peace agreement.
"Once the reduction in violence has been successfully implemented, the signing of the agreement between the United States and the Taliban should go forward," confirmed, Friday, Mike Pompeo, head of the American diplomacy, adding: "We are preparing for the signing to take place on February 29. " He said negotiations between US officials and Taliban officials were aimed at fostering a political settlement in Afghanistan to reduce the presence of American troops in the region.
On the same day, the Taliban also communicated: "After lengthy negotiations, the two sides agreed to sign the finalized deal in the presence of international observers on February 29. " Before this date, continues the text of the insurgents, the two camps will focus on "Create an adequate security situation". Taliban military chief Sirajuddin Haqqani, believed to be the movement's true leader, said on Thursday in a column published by the New york times : "We are about to sign an agreement with the United States and we are fully committed to implementing all of its provisions, in letter and spirit. "
Caution in the formulation
The third major player in the future of this country is the Kabul regime. Inter-Afghan negotiations including the government will begin only ten days after the signing of the agreement between the Americans and the Taliban. President Ashraf Ghani, re-elected on Tuesday, had endorsed the timetable and the process agreed in Doha during a meeting on February 14 in Munich with Mike Pompeo at the Security Conference. The head of the US delegation to negotiate with the Afghan Taliban, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the US commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan, Scott Miller, also attended the meeting. Friday, Mr. Ghani nevertheless warned that "Afghan security forces will remain in active defense for the week".
