Pompeo refuses to sign US-Taliban peace deal.

Washington -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to sign a peace deal between the US and the Taliban, TIME reported Wednesday.

The agreement aims to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan and end the unpopular war, but, according to TIME, contains no guarantee that the Taliban will leave the US-backed Afghan government in place or reduce violence in the world's most dangerous country.

The Taliban reportedly asked Pompeo to sign an agreement with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the name it gave itself when it came to power in Afghanistan in 1996. Doing so would mean Pompeo would be recognizing the legitimacy of the Taliban.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US's envoy in the Taliban talks, has worked with Taliban envoys over months in Qatar to take steps toward the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. According to TIME, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was supposed to discuss the deal with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. If the deal is signed, 5,400 US troops would leave Afghanistan within 135 days.

But TIME reports that the deal doesn't guarantee the survival of the US-supported Afghan government, which the...