NATO chief said on Wednesday that the alliance supports peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, but it will face a “very difficult” dilemma.
“There are many challenges, and many uncertainties, but of course, the peace talks are the only path to peace, the only way forward to a peaceful negotiated solution,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press point with Alexander Dobrindt, Chairman of the CSU Parliamentary Group.
“We support those efforts, but at the same time we know that we will be faced with a very difficult dilemma,” Stoltenberg said.
According to him, 2021 is a pivotal year for NATO because “we need to decide on our presence in Afghanistan.”
“Next month, NATO’s defence ministers will meet, and they need to decide whether to remain, whether to stay in Afghanistan with our military presence, and then risk being engaged in a prolonged military presence in Afghanistan, or whether to leave, but then risk that Afghanistan once again becomes a safe haven for international terrorists,” Stoltenberg said.
