Talks make progress, but no final agreement

KABUL - The peace talks between the United States and Afghan Taliban have made progress after 16-day tough negotiations in Qatar's capital Doha, and conditions for achieving peaceful settlement have improved, US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.

"I just finished a marathon round of talks with the Taliban in Doha. The conditions for peace have improved. It is clear all sides want to end the war. Despite ups and downs, we kept things on track and made real strides," Khalilzad said in the statement.

The US envoy made the comments late on Tuesday hours after ending the fifth round of talks with Taliban negotiators. The 16 days of hard discussions that led the two sides on agreeing in draft on counterterrorism assurances and foreign forces withdrawal.