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KABUL: The secretary general of NATO has expressed optimistic about the Afghan peace process but believes the road to peace will be long and hard.
Speaking in a press conference following a North Atlantic meeting which held in Brussels at Turkey’s request for Article 4 constitutions on the situation in Syar, Jens Stoltenberg on Friday talked about Afghan peace process in response to an Afghan journalist questions.
“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.”
According to Stoltenberg, “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 and that’s the next step. And the road to peace will be long and hard.”
The will be setbacks and there is a risk always for spoilers, but the thing is that we are committed, the Afghan people are committed to peace and we will continue to provide support, Jens furthered.
According to him, NATO will continue to support Afghan forces with training and funding.
“We will continue to support them because that’s the best way we can create the conditions for a peaceful negotiated solution in Afghanistan and I also would like to commend the Afghan security forces because they have made enormous progress, we have helped them, but they are now on the front line, and they are providing security for the country and we will continue to provide support because that is the best way to support a peaceful solution,” Stoltenberg added.
The remark to top NATO official made one day prior to a possible peace deal between the U.S and the Taliban in Doha today (Saturday).
Moreover, according to the Afghan official U.S Secretary of Defense, Mike Esper and the NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg will visit Afghanistan today (Saturday) where they will announce a joint declaration with Afghan President.
