MONITORING (SW) – Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, on Thursday reiterated support for the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan towards creating environment for peace.
He was addressing a press conference after the NATO Defense Ministers Meeting in Brussels. He expressed full support for the efforts by U.S Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in regard to talks with the Taliban. “We are in Afghanistan to fight terrorism and create enabling environment for peace”, he said.
Stoltenberg said no decision has been made about the withdrawal of troops.
About the role of Pakistan, he said the message is very clear, neighbor should support the peace efforts. He expressed support for President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani’s peace plan.
He said NATO members’ military officers in Afghanistan are also assessing implications of a possible peace deal for the future posture together. The NATO Secretary General said the Alliance wants to send a clear message to the Taliban they would never win on the battlefield.
Responding to a question, he said NATO is hopeful the Afghan government would soon be made part of the direct peace talks.
“The aim is not to stay there (in Afghanistan) forever, but to reach political settlement and to reduce our (military) presence”, he said. Stoltenberg said besides the pledges for funding to Afghanistan till 2014, some NATO allies made new pledges to stay there for long time.
This comes as Germany has opted to extend troop's mission in Afghanistan for another year. Germany currently has around 1,200 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, part of the Resolute Support Mission.
ENDS
