President Donald Trump says the U.S. is close to signing a deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
“We shouldn’t be there. It’s time to come home,” Trump said in a podcast interview with Geraldo Rivera released Thursday.
“I think we’re very close. I think there’s a good chance that we’ll have a deal, and we’ll see. We’re going to know over the next two weeks,” Trump added.
Talks appeared to be bearing fruit in September, but fell apart.
Trump's interview remarks lined up with Secretary of Stat Mike Pompeo's announcement the same day of a 'pretty important breakthrough' over the past few days in talks between the United States and the Taliban.
Speaking to a pool of reporters traveling with him to Munich, Pompeo said President Donald Trump has given the authority to continue the talks and that Washington was seeking a significant reduction in violence before more deeper discussions involving all Afghans can start.
This report contains material from Reuters.