STUTTGART, Germany (AP) " U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says it's too early to talk about the start of a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Esper told reporters traveling with him to Germany on Wednesday that U.S.-Taliban negotiations are "in some ways still ongoing."

He declined to discuss specifics, such as the timing of an initial American troop drawdown. He also wouldn't say whether he's confident that the Taliban would live up to any peace agreement.

Esper said he planned to update NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the Afghanistan situation at dinner Wednesday in Stuttgart, Germany.

Later in the week Esper is meeting with counterparts in London and Paris.

A U.S. envoy said Tuesday that a deal had been reached in principle with the Taliban to end the nearly 18-year war in Afghanistan.