BRUSSELS (Pajhwok): NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday renewed the alliance financial support for the Afghan security forces through 2024.
Addressing media persons here, after NATO together and we will take decisions about the future of our mission together.”
“Ministers were briefed by the mission’s Commander, General Miller, and by NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative, Ambassador Kay. While many challenges remain in Afghanistan, we now have a unique opportunity for peace,” he added.
Allies fully supported the efforts of the US Special Representative, Ambassador Khalilzad, to achieve a political settlement. He is regularly consulting with Allies at NATO, including earlier this month, the secretary general said.
He added: “we remain in close contact with him. NATO is strongly committed to Afghanistan. We have recently generated forces for the next rotation, throughout next year.”
When asked about beginning of intra-Afghan talks in the near future singled by US Secretary Pompeo, he said: “First of all, these negotiations are extremely important because they mean that we are now closer to a peace deal than we have ever been before in Afghanistan. That doesn’t mean that we know that there will be a deal, but a deal is closer than it has ever been before.”
He added: “And NATO Allies, all our partners, strongly support those efforts. Ambassador Khalilzad has briefed us on many, many times in the different meetings here at the NATO Headquarters, there are four elements. First is about Afghanistan never again becoming a safe-haven for international terrorists, so how to make sure that doesn’t happen. The second element is about the presence of international forces, NATO forces in Afghanistan. The third element is about an inter-Afghan dialogue, because to have a sustainable peace in Afghanistan, it has to be, of course, a dialogue between the Taliban, the government and the different communities in Afghanistan, to create a sustainable peace. And the fourth element is the comprehensive ceasefire. And the inter-Afghan dialogue is something which is supported by all Allies, and Germany plays a key role because, actually, they’re now trying to facilitate and also helping to, to support and organise an inter-Afghan dialogue.”
The secretary general maintained: “I will be very careful about any specific timelines, partly because, it is Ambassador Khalilzad which is responsible for the negotiations. And second because no one can predict exactly when or if there will be a deal, because a deal requires agreement between two parts, or the two parties, two sides. Our best way to support the effort to find a peace deal is to stay committed. To send a very clear signal to Taliban that they will not win on the battlefield. And the good news now is that actually we see that the Afghan forces are making progress on their own.”
They are retaking territory which was previously controlled by Taliban, now the Afghan forces are able to retake that. And by continuing to train them, advise them, help them and to fund them, the Afghan forces, that’s the best way to create the conditions on the battleground to enable progress around the negotiating table.
When asked about Taliban’s emphasis regarding full withdrawal of foreign forces and outcome of talks in Qatar, he said that NATO’s presence in Afghanistan had been the alliance biggest military operation outside NATO territory ever. So, of course, this was and had been a very important mission for NATO.
“We have to understand why NATO went in. We went in to Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks on the United States, 9/11 2001, because we saw that Afghanistan was a platform to train, to organise attacks on our countries. And that could not continue. And these attacks were at the United States, but actually we saw also attacks in Madrid, in London and elsewhere. So this was actually attacks organised by al-Qaida, other terrorist groups against us. So we are in Afghanistan to protect our interests, to protect our security. So this has been important for NATO Allies and partners to prevent Afghanistan again being a safe place for international terrorists. And, together with Afghan forces, we have been able to deny safe haven for international terrorists in Afghanistan.”
“It’s not easy, and we have paid the price, all of us. But at least Afghanistan is not the safe haven for international terrorists it was before 2001. Then, of course, for us the aim is not to stay as long as possible in Afghanistan. For us the aim is to train, build the Afghan forces so they can stabilise their own country. And again, there are many problems, many challenges in Afghanistan, but at least we have made a huge achievement, made a lot of progress, by being able to go from more than 140,000 combat troops in Afghanistan a few years ago, to now around 16,000 in a noncombat operation, where we train and advise the Afghans and they do the fighting.”
“They are on the frontline. And they are now making progress, because they are well-trained, better equipped, better commanded, new commanders, younger commanders, better organised and better led and more enablers including, for instance, air forces.”
“So the progress we see on the battlefield now is actually something that Afghans achieve and we are, what should I say, grateful for that, because that’s also in our interest. And we’re also proud because we have helped that happen by training and advising them. Then it’s, of course, not possible for me to say exactly how many troops we will have if there’s a peace deal, because that depends on the peace deal,” he said.
“What Ambassador Khalilzad has said many times, and I totally agree with him, is that nothing is agreed, because before everything is agreed. So this is a package. And we are not aiming for a leave deal, we are aiming for a peace deal. So the elements have to be in place, including Afghan reconciliation,” he added.
“We have been there to protect our own interests, our own security, but, of course, we also recognise the huge progress which has been made in Afghanistan when it comes to social, economic progress, not least human rights, freedom of press and the rights of women. And for us, it’s important to try to preserve those gains. And that has to be one part of the peace deal,” he believed.
When asked about his message to the Taliban and Afghan government, Stoltenberg said: “My message to the Afghan government is that we will stay committed. We will continue to provide forces and funding. Forces for training and funding for security. And my message to Taliban is that they will not win on the battlefield. Actually, now, the Afghan forces are making progress regaining, retaking territory which was previously controlled by the Taliban.”
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