Taliban says ‘no agreement’ reached with US on Afghan war ending

Taliban leaders have rejected a deadline of April 2019 to end the long-running war in Afghanistan, Reuters reported Monday.

U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is representing the U.S. in negotiations to end the war, told the news outlet in a statement that the two sides held preliminary talks, and that no agreement was reached “on any issue.”

The lack of consensus in negotiations came one day after Khalilzad said he hoped to set a deadline of April 2019 for ending the 17-year war. The date would coincide with Afghanistan’s elections next year.

{mosads}Reuters reported that the Taliban expected Khalilzad to visit the group’s political headquarters in Qatar for another round of talks before the end of the year.

President Trump announced more than a year ago a new strategy to help end the 17-year war, injecting more than 3,000 troops into the fight and increasing air strikes.

However, the conflict has seen little progress, with little territory changing hands. The two sides have engaged in peace talks in an effort to broker a ceasefire.