NATO is ready to adjust its presence in Afghanistan if the Taliban reduces violence in the country, chief of the alliance said on Friday.
“We are not leaving Afghanistan … NATO has said, the US has said, we are prepared to adjust our presence if the Taliban demonstrates real will and capability to reduce violence,” Jens Stoltenberg said speaking at Munich Security Conference.
“The aim of our presence in Afghanistan is to send the message to the Taliban that they will never win on the battlefield, but they have to sit down and make real compromises around the negotiating table,” Stoltenberg added.
He said that “at some stage the Afghans have to be in charge, fully, of their future,” adding that it must be an “Afghan-owned” peace process.
The United States has reached agreement with the Taliban on a weeklong reduction of violence that could lead to withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
CNN reported Saturday that US officials have reassured Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that Americans won’t abandon Afghans.
“We guarantee you if they [Taliban] break [terms of deal] US will have enough lethal power to destroy them, we are with the Afghan now and we will be with Afghanistan forever,” US officials told Ghani in Munich, Germany.
