Taliban deal: US envoy meets Afghan president, former rival as Kabul ends political impasse

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former rival Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday to discuss progress towards a peace deal with the insurgent Taliban.

The meeting was the first between the three men since Ghani and Abdullah ended a months-long political impasse in which both claimed to be Afghanistan’s rightful leader. The pair struck a power-sharing agreement on Sunday, removing a major obstacle to the US-brokered peace process. Abdullah was appointed head of a reconciliation council designated to hold talks with the Taliban, Reuters said.

Ghani said that during his meeting with Khalilzad, shortly before the three men met, they had discussed a ceasefire with the Taliban. They also discussed how to continue with a prisoner swap that the Taliban have demanded before beginning talks.

The president’s statement made no mention of a $1 billion aid cut the US announced in March when Abdullah and Ghani failed to strike a deal, which officials have asked to be reinstated.