Taliban say latest round of talks with US 'critical'

A Taliban spokesman says the seventh and latest round of peace talks with the U.S. is "critical," as the militant group meets with Washington's envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in the Mideastern state of Qatar, where it maintains a political office.

Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press Sunday that both sides are looking for "tangible results" as they try to hammer out the fine print of agreements that will see the eventual withdrawal of over 20,000 U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, and end America's longest-running war.

The agreements are also expected to provide guarantees that Afghanistan will not again harbour terrorists to carry out attacks worldwide.

The talks began on Saturday and are expected to continue into the next week. The U.S. wants a final deal by Sept. 1.