A U.S. envoy has met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul to brief him on the latest round of talks with the Taliban as a deal nears on ending America's longest war, AP reported citing a U.S. official.

Ghani's spokesperson confirmed the meeting took place on Sunday night at the presidential palace, shortly after the American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, arrived from Qatar.

In Qatar, Khalilzad had held the ninth round of talks with the Taliban, which ended without a final agreement. The palace will soon release details, spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi said.

Responding to questions regarding China's role in rebuilding the war-torn country and whether China would attend the final signing ceremony, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that China believes that the Afghan issue could be resolved through a political process at an early date.

China supports the Afghan government in pushing forward the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process to achieve an inclusive political reconciliation at an early date, Geng said at a regular press conference on Monday. 

Khalilzad, the Afghan-born U.S. diplomat overseeing negotiations for Washington, tweeted: "We are at the threshold of an agreement that will reduce violence and open the door for Afghans to sit together to negotiate an honorable and sustainable peace and a unified, sovereign Afghanistan that does not threaten the United States, its allies, or any other country."

The comment came as Taliban fighters attacked Pul-e Khumri, in the northern province of Baghlan, just a day after a major show of strength by hundreds of fighters who overran parts of Kunduz, a strategic city the insurgents have twice come close to taking in recent years.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks in recent months to strengthen their negotiating position while the United Nations and others say civilians have suffered, often caught in the crossfire as government forces, backed by the U.S., have pursued the militants with airstrikes and raids.

Few details have emerged from this latest round of U.S.-Taliban peace talks, adding to the uncertainty as violence increases.

A U.S. official with the negotiation team, speaking on condition of anonymity said, "Any potential peace deal will not be based on blind trust, but will instead contain clear commitments that are subject to our monitoring and verification."

The official added: "If and when we are able to announce an agreement, the process will pivot to intra-Afghan negotiations where the Taliban will sit with other Afghans and together they will commit to a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire."

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: Afghan soldiers gather at a street in Kunduz, August 31, 2019. /VCG Photo)