AFGHANISTAN PEACE AFFIRMATION : HISTORIC

DOHA : US, Taliban clinch historic deal for Afghan peace. The United States signed a landmark deal with the Taliban on Saturday, laying out timetable for a full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan within 14 months as it seeks an exit from the longest-ever war.

Washington's chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar inked the accord at a gilded desk in a conference room of a luxury hotel in the Qatari capital as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo witnessed the signing ceremony.

However, many fear that the talks between multiple Afghan sides over the next months after the US agreement with the Taliban can be far more complicated.

Addressing the peace deal signing ceremony, Secretary Pompeo called on the Taliban to honor their commitments to sever ties with the Jihadist groups. He called on the Taliban to ''keep your promises to cut ties with Al Qaeda''.

''I know there will be temptation to declare victory, but victory for Afghans will only be achieved when they can live in peace and prosper,'' he said at the ceremony in Doha.

Defence Secretary Mark Esper, meanwhile traveled to Kabul on a visit that officials believed was aimed at reassuring the Afghan government about US commitment to the country as security experts called the accord a foreign policy gamble that would give the Taliban international legitimacy.

President Donald Trump hailed the signing of the deal and said he would meet the Taliban leaders ''in the not so distant future.''