KABUL - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance supports efforts to try to find a peaceful, negotiated solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and that has been strongly impressed by Allies for a long time, according to a statement on Thursday.
Talking to media after 9/11 commemoration event at NATO headquarters, he said: “We have to understand that our military presence in Afghanistan is there to create the conditions for a peaceful, negotiated solution and we have to send a very clear message to Taliban that they will not win on the battlefield.”
“They have to sit down at the negotiating table and then find a peaceful solution. So I think that the fact that there is soon to be a new National Security Advisor in the United States will not change that fundamental approach: that we continue to provide military support to Afghanistan to create the conditions for a peaceful negotiated solution,” he added.
When asked about peace US, Taliban peace deal which did not happen, the secretary general said: “All NATO Allies want a peaceful negotiated solution. But, of course, it has to be a solution which fulfills some minimum requirements. And we have stated clearly that we are working for a peace deal, not a leave deal.”
“So, it has to fulfill some basic conditions and it has to be a credible deal, meaning that we have to believe that the deal actually delivers peace, stability and that we can preserve the main achievements we have made in Afghanistan, making sure that Afghanistan doesn’t once again become a safe haven for international terrorists,” Stoltenberg added.
“We also do whatever we can to preserve the rights of women, human rights in Afghanistan, where we’ve seen a lot of progress over the last years, not least supported by the presence of NATO troops,” he believed.
Referring to the resumption of talks with Taliban, he says It is too early to say when talks can again start, but, again, the aim is to have a peaceful solution. So, at the end of the day, there has to be talks again to find a negotiated solution. “But we stay committed to our military presence in Afghanistan, to make that possible, to create the conditions for peace,” he pledged. (Pajhwok)