MONITORING (SW) – NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg has said as part of the peace efforts, the Alliance would reduce military presence in Afghanistan to around 12,000 by summer.
He said this at the pre-ministerial press conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
He stressed all of these steps will be conditions-based.
"NATO will maintain its commitment to long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan. The situation remains difficult. So now is the time for the Taliban and all political actors to play their part. All parties need to engage constructively. Honour their commitments. And ensure intra-Afghan negotiations can start", he said.
Responding to a question, he said the Taliban must reduce violence and respect the agreement they have made with the US, which is the basis for intra-Afghan peace talks, peace negotiations.
"We are in the process of reducing our presence in Afghanistan, but we will stay committed to the Afghan . . . to Afghanistan, to the peace and security in the region. And everything we do will be conditions-based. And as I said, we will reduce to a level of around 12,000 troops. That's actually roughly the same level of troops we had before we increased the troop levels in 2017 and 12,000 troops is a level of troops that enables us to continue with the Train, Assist and Advise Mission we have in Afghanistan, also with the different bases outside Kabul".
Stoltenberg added a lasting peace in Afghanistan requires the support of all the countries in the region. "And that, of course, includes Pakistan. So regional support is key to any stable peace in Afghanistan".
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