Diplomats: U.S. urges UN vote on Taliban deal

PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States has called for a Tuesday, March 10 vote at the UN Security Council to endorse Washington's deal with the Taliban that is supposed to pave the way to peace in Afghanistan, diplomats said, according to Al Jazeera.

The U.S. military has begun withdrawing troops as part of the pullout agreed in the February 29 agreement with the Taliban.

The request for a UN vote came after negotiations on a draft resolution, diplomats said on Monday.

The deal signed in Qatar is aimed at ending the U.S.'s longest war, fought in Afghanistan since 2001.

The agreement seeks the withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in 14 months.

It also secured a Taliban guarantee that Afghanistan would not be used as a launching pad for activities that would threaten the security of the U.S. in the future.

Intra-Afghan negotiations are also set to begin by Tuesday to work out a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.

About 14,000 U.S. troops and approximately 17,000 troops from 39 NATO allies and partner countries are stationed in Afghanistan in a non-combatant role.

The U.S.-Taliban talks were launched in 2018 as part of a push by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to strike a deal with the armed group, which has been fighting the U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan since being toppled from power in 2001.