US envoy heads to UK as part of Afghan peace tour

By Sayed Khodaberdi Sadat

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - The U.S. envoy seeking a peace deal with Taliban visited the U.K. on Thursday as part of renewed efforts to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan.

"Briefly in London to consult with senior officials from Her Majesty’s government in pursuit of our shared goal of peace in Afghanistan and security for our countries," Zalmay Khalilzad said in a tweet.

In line with his tour which kicked off on Monday, Khalilzad is expected to visit Afghanistan, Belgium, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Jordan and Qatar.

He previously held a marathon round of talks with the Taliban in Qatar, and both parties reached some level of agreement on withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and counter-terror efforts.

The Taliban and the U.S. are set to resume talks next month in Doha, Qatar. The Afghan government is increasingly feeling sidelined as the Taliban are not willing to talk with the Afghan government, resulting in a stalemate.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas