The United States and Afghanistan said Thursday they have agreed to accelerate efforts to reach a negotiated end to the conflict in the country.
In a joint statement, Washington and Kabul said theagreement had been reached in a telephone call between US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff, and US Afghan special representative ZalmayKhalizad had beensent to Kabul to “discuss in detail the next steps on the road topeace,” the statement said.