KABUL (SW) – The NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has said the Alliance will continue to provide support to the Afghan security and defense forces because that is the best way to support a peaceful solution.
He said this following the North Atlantic Council meeting at Turkey’s request for Article 4 consultations on the situation in Syria. Addressing a presser, he said NATO will continue to support the efforts to find a peaceful and negotiated solution.
“We have seen a significant reduction in violence in Afghanistan over the last days. And therefore we are also very close to signing of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban. This will be only the first, but very important first step towards a lasting peace agreement in Afghanistan. Because the only way to find a lasting sustainable peaceful solution to the conflict in Afghanistan is to have an inter-Afghan process, inter Afghan negotiations, and an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process”, he said.
He warned the road to peace will be long and hard, and there will be setbacks as well as risk for spoilers. “We will support the Afghan security forces with training, with funding. Because we have to send a clear message to the Taliban that they will never win on the battlefield. They have to sit down at the negotiating table and make real compromises. So we will continue to support them because that’s the best way we can create the conditions for a peaceful negotiated solution in Afghanistan”, he said.
Stoltenberg visited Kabul on Saturday where he met with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and senior Afghan officials.
ENDS
