A traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan's warring sides.
The declaration calls for an immediate start to negotiations and a cease-fire, and was read out in both of Afghanistan's official languages, Pashto and Farsi. The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing home its troops and ending its longest military engagement.
No date has been set, but negotiations between Kabul's political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin as early as next week and will most likely be held in the Mideast state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintains a political office.