US and Taliban negotiators have agreed on a draft framework for a peace deal seeking to put an end to the 17-year conflict in Afghanistan, Washington's top negotiator has said, reports BBC.
US negotiators held six days of talks with the Taliban in Qatar last week.
The Taliban have so far refused to hold direct talks with Afghan officials, whom they dismiss as "puppets".
But analysts caution that it could be years until any substantive peace agreement is reached.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, was in Kabul to brief the Afghan government about the talks.
"We have a draft of the framework that has to be fleshed out before it becomes an agreement," he told The New York Times in an interview, adding that as part of the proposed deal the Taliban had committed to preventing Afghanistan being used as a base for terror groups.
The US is exploring a full withdrawal of its troops - in return for a ceasefire and a commitment by the Taliban to engage in direct talks with the Afghan government.
The Taliban say they will only begin negotiations with the government once a firm date for the withdrawal of US troops has been agreed.
On Monday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a fresh plea to the Taliban to talk directly to his government.
He alluded to fears that freedoms could be lost if the Taliban were to share power. Women's rights activists have expressed particular concern due to the militants' brutal treatment of women when they ran the country.
"We are committed to ensuring peace," he said. "But there are values which are non-negotiable, for example national unity, national sovereignty, territorial integrity a powerful and competent central government and basic rights of the citizens of the country."
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