The agreement was signed in Doha, Qatar, by US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad -- the chief US negotiator in the talks with the Taliban -- and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar -- the Taliban's chief negotiator. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo witnessed the signing.

The "Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan" outlines a series of commitments from the US and the Taliban related to troop levels, counterterrorism, and the intra-Afghan dialogue aimed at bringing about "a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire."

"This is a hopeful moment, but it's only the beginning," Pompeo said at a news conference in the Qatari capital Saturday. "There's a great deal of hard work ahead on the diplomatic front."

The Taliban "will start intra-Afghan negotiations with Afghan sides on March 10, 2020," according to the text of the agreement.

The agreement lays out a 14-month timetable for the withdrawal of "all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners, including all non-diplomatic civilian personnel, private security contractors, trainers, advisors, and supporting services personnel."

An initial drawdown to 8,600 troops would occur within the first 135 days, according to the agreement. US officials have stressed that any downsizing of US troop presence would be "conditions based."

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Doha, Pompeo said the US "will closely watch the Taliban's compliance with their commitments, and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal to their actions."

"This is how we will ensure that Afghanistan never again serves as a base for international terrorists," Pompeo said.

President Donald Trump on Saturday told reporters at a White House news conference in Washington that he would be "meeting personally with Taliban leaders in the not too distant future" following the signing of the agreement. Taliban leaders and Trump could meet as early as next week, a source close to the Taliban with knowledge of US-Taliban talks told CNN.

The source said the talks could take place in the US. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

"We'll be very much hoping that they will be doing what they say they're going to be doing" under the agreement, Trump said at the briefing.

"Everybody wanted this to happen," Trump added.

Trump said he wanted congratulate those US officials involved in the agreement as well as his Afghanistan counterpart.

What the agreement says

The four-page agreement states that the Taliban will take steps "to prevent any group or individual, including al-Qa'ida, from using the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies." Those steps include commitments that the Taliban will instruct its members "not to cooperate with groups or individuals threatening the security of the United States and its allies" and that it "will prevent any group or individual in Afghanistan from threatening the security of the United States and its allies, and will prevent them from recruiting, training, and fundraising and will not host them in accordance with the commitments in this agreement."

A senior administration official who briefed reporters last week acknowledged that "people are concerned about the historic relationship between the Taliban and al-Qai'da."

"We think this is a decisive and historic first step in terms of their public acknowledgment that they are breaking ties with al Qaeda. That's going to be a work in progress," they said.

The agreement also calls for the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 "prisoners of the other side" on the first day of intra-Afghan negotiations.

"The relevant sides have the goal of releasing all the remaining prisoners over the course of the subsequent three months. The United States commits to completing this goal," the text states.

In a news conference following the signing, Pompeo said that, "if the Taliban do not uphold their commitments, Trump and his team will not hesitate to do what we must do to protect American lives."

While Pompeo was in Doha, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday for a joint declaration ceremony with Afghan and NATO officials, including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Esper said that there is "great hope" about Afghanistan's future.

"Afghanistan deserves a chance to enjoy the security that comes from peace and stability, this will only happen if Afghans join together to embrace this opportunity," Esper said.

The signing of the US-Taliban agreement sees the realization of a campaign promise for Trump, who has sought to diminish US involvement in wars overseas.

"If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home," Trump said in a statement Friday. "These commitments represent an important step to a lasting peace in a new Afghanistan, free from Al Qaeda, ISIS, and any other terrorist group that would seek to bring us harm."

The US has been at war in Afghanistan since 2001. Read more at CNN