The Taliban has to show real willingness to make real compromises and to agree on a credible peace deal, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference ahead of NATO’s defense ministerial meeting in Brussels, Stoltenberg said that the alliance supports resumption of Afghanistan peace talks which were halted by US President Donald Trump last month.
Washington has recently restarted efforts for Afghanistan peace.
“What you need is a deal which in a credible way preserves the gains we have made in Afghanistan for Afghan people, for women, for journalists, for everyone who believes in democratic, free Afghanistan, but also for our fight against terrorism,” Stoltenberg said.
He reiterated that the Taliban would never win on the battlefield and that NATO’s strong commitment to its presence in Afghanistan was the best way to provide the framework and basis for a political solution.
Stoltenberg emphasized that NATO would make decisions on its future presence together with US.
“We went to Afghanistan together, we will make decisions on our future presence there together and when the time is right, then we will also leave together,” he said.
On recently conducted presidential election in Afghanistan, Stoltenberg said that credibility and transparency in election were “extremely important” for it to be “free and fair.”
“All parties should show restraint and calm and let the electoral bodies finish their work so we can have outcome of the elections and then finalize the election process in well-organized and good way,” Stoltenberg said.
