CAIRO: Afghan peace talks held in the United Arab Emirates will yield “very positive results by the beginning of next year,” the Saudi ambassador to Washington said on Thursday, adding to hopes of progress to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. Khalid bin Salman added on his Twitter account that the talks were productive and would “help promote intra-Afghan dialogue toward ending the conflict.” The US special envoy for Afghan peace talks, Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to meet government leaders following his discussions with Taliban representatives in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.