.jpg)
KABUL (SW) – The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Alliance's troops will not stay in Afghanistan "longer than necessary", but so far the military presence is needed to achieve a "peaceful solution" to the conflict in this country.
We will not stay longer than necessary, but we will not leave before we have a situation, which enables to leave or reduce the number of troops without jeopardizing the main goal of our presence", Stoltenberg said at a meeting with US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.
In the meantime, Italy has also hinted a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The Italian defense ministry has initiated work on a plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in a year.
This comes as the US Envoy of Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, has announced progress has been made in talks with the Taliban. Special Representative Khalilzad said the meetings in Doha were much better than previous meetings. “We made progress on vital issues in our discussions and agreed to agreements in principle on a couple of very important issues”, he said.
He expressed hope the Afghans seize this opportunity to put political differences aside and deal with this moment positively and urgently. “Seize the opportunity. We have the opportunity to avoid future tragedies, to bring the 40 years of war to an end, to a good end, and I urge everyone to rise to the occasion. I am hopeful that they will”.
Khalilzad said he encouraged the Taliban to engage in direct talks with the Afghan government. “It is our policy to get to intra-Afghan talks. I have conveyed the same message to the Afghan government, that I encouraged intra-Afghan talks. Afghans need to find a solution to this stalemate on intra-Afghan dialogue”, he said.
The US Envoy said the key for finding the solutions for Afghan problems is at the hands of Afghans now.
He clarified there is a false narrative that Afghans are not included. “That is not true. The Afghan voice is there. We have many important issues to consider. A big concern for us is Afghan security and stability. The Afghan people are understandably concerned about their security. We are working together to get to a comprehensive ceasefire. We are working with the Afghan government, with international partners, to find implementing mechanisms to reach these goals”
Khalilzad also made it clear he did not discuss an interim government with the Taliban. “We are in a hurry for the sake of the Afghan people to end the violence as soon as we can. We cannot leave the situation in a state of uncertainty. We need to complete the process.”
The Arg presidential palace in Kabul issued a statement on Monday stating President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has hailed the efforts of Khalilzad for peace in Afghanistan.
ENDS
