US hails latest Taliban talks as ‘most productive’ so far

“These six days have been the most productive of the rounds we’ve had with the Taliban … we made progress on all the issues that we have been discussing,” Khalilzad said in Qatar.

The insurgents have been meeting with the US envoy in Doha to try to forge a deal that would see the American military quit Afghanistan in return for various guarantees.

Suhail Shaheen, the spokesman for the Taliban’s office in Qatar, said they were pleased with the discussions so far.

“We are happy with progress and hope the rest of the work is also done. We have not faced any obstacles yet,” he tweeted.

But the talks are set to be paused for two days while another summit with Afghan representatives takes place in Qatar’s capital.