Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal to end a months-long political stalemate that has hampered progress towards peace, Ghani's spokesman said on Sunday.

"The Political Agreement between President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has just been signed," spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said on Twitter, adding that Abdullah would lead the council for peace talks and his team members would be included in the cabinet.

It was not immediately known which ministerial positions Abdullah's camp would control.

Officials say a deal between Ghani and Abdullah is crucial to launching peace talks, as Abdullah's camp represents much of the country's northwest.

U.S. Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on Friday that a new date for intra-Afghan peace talks was under discussion and he would soon travel to the region and try to encourage a reduction in violence. 

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In February, Washington signed a deal with the Taliban which stipulates that the U.S. and its foreign allies will withdraw all forces from Afghanistan by early 2021. In return, the Taliban agreed not to attack foreign troops.

The breakthrough comes as Afghanistan battles a series of crises, including a rapid spread of the deadly coronavirus and surging militant violence that saw dozens killed in brutal attacks last week. 

Abdullah had previously served as Afghanistan's "chief executive" under an earlier power-sharing deal, but lost that post after he was defeated in a presidential election that incumbent Ghani won amid claims of fraud. 

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Abdullah and Ghani contested the 2014 presidential election, with both claiming victory. To avert a full-blown conflict, then-U.S. secretary of state John Kerry brokered a deal between the two that left Abdullah as the country's chief executive.