(Reuters) -Zalmay Khalilzad, the top U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, is expected to step down, two sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.
Khalilzad will “transition” out of his role and be replaced by his deputy, Tom West, less than two months after the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, the sources said.
CNN first reported Khalilzad’s plans. Khalilzad did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He had for years spearheaded U.S. dialogue with the Taliban, and was a key figure in peace talks with the group.
In mid-August, the U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed as the Taliban swept through the country at lightning speed and marched into the capital, Kabul, unopposed. Khalilzad was left seeking the militant group’s help in a chaotic U.S. evacuation from Kabul.
Current and former U.S. officials told Reuters earlier that in the three years Khalilzad had been in the role, he became the face https://www.reuters.com/world/us/brokering-exit-afghanistan-us-envoy-khalilzad-became-face-diplomatic-debacle-2021-09-10 of one of the largest U.S. diplomatic failures in recent memory.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
