US envoy says 'real strides' made in longest Taliban talks

US and Taliban negotiators wrapped up their latest round of marathon peace talks on Tuesday with "real strides" made but no agreement on a timetable for troop withdrawal, the US special envoy said.

"Just finished a marathon round of talks with the Taliban in #Doha. The conditions for #peace have improved. It's clear all sides want to end the war. Despite ups and downs, we kept things on track and made real strides," Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted.

Khalilzad said the next step would be discussions in Washington, adding that "there is no final agreement until everything is agreed".

The talks focused on the withdrawal of US troops and assurances that insurgents would not use Afghanistan's territory to stage future terrorist attacks -- one of the initial aims of American policy in the wake of the 9/11 attacks back in 2001.

"Progress was achieved regarding both these issues," said a Taliban spokesman.

"For now, both sides will deliberate over the achieved progress, share it with their respective