Afghan government and Taliban representatives said on Wednesday they had reached a preliminary deal to press on with peace talks, their first written agreement in 19 years of war.

The agreement lays out the way forward for further discussion but is considered a breakthrough because it will allow negotiators to move on to more substantive issues, including talks on a ceasefire.

“The procedure including its preamble of the negotiation has been finalised and from now on, the negotiation will begin on the agenda,” Nader Nadery, a member of the Afghan government’s negotiating team, told Reuters. The Taliban spokesman confirmed the same on Twitter.

The agreement comes after months of discussions in Doha, the capital of Qatar, in negotiations encouraged by the US. In Afghanistan, the two sides are still at war, with Taliban attacks on government forces continuing unabated. Taliban insurgents have refused to agree to a ceasefire.