KABUL (SW) – The NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg has said the Taliban must live up to their commitments in connection with the peace accord and shun ties to al-Qaeda.
He said this at a press conference ahead of the NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels. He said at this meeting of defence ministers, NATO leaders will take decisions on:
- Preparations for a possible second wave of COVID-19;
- Updating national resilience guidelines;
- Deterrence and defence, including response to Russia’s new nuclear-capable missiles;
- And NATO missions and operations, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“We will also discuss NATO’s missions and operations, including in Afghanistan and in Iraq. In Afghanistan, the situation remains challenging. NATO will continue to adjust our presence in support of the peace process. But for the peace to succeed, the Taliban must live up to their commitments. To reduce violence, break all bonds with Al Qaida and other international terrorist groups, and engage in intra-Afghan talks in good faith”, he said.
Responding to a question, he said NATO has seen some progress in Afghanistan. "We have seen the agreement between the United States and the Taliban. We have seen some steps, important steps have been taken when it comes to prisoners’ release. And we have seen some reduction in violence, especially when it comes to no attacks against NATO and US forces. And we have also seen a clear commitment from the Taliban to break all ties with Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups", he added.
Stoltenberg said situation in Afghanistan remains fragile, difficult and there are many obstacles that have to be overcome before a lasting political solution can be reached in Afghanistan. "We continue to support the peace efforts. We strongly believe that this has to be an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process. That’s the reason why we really hope and support all efforts to start the intra-Afghan negotiations. This is again an issue I have discussed with… I spoke with President Ghani and also Mr Abdullah a few weeks ago about this issue; an issue I have also discussed with President Trump. And we have an ongoing conversation now in NATO on how we can best support the peace efforts by adjusting our presence, but making sure we do that in a coordinated way", he said.
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