“They have to sit down and make real compromises at the negotiating table,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with US-based radio channel WBUR. “We believe that a good deal is more important than the quick deal and we will support resumption of peace talks.”
He said that the parties to the conflict need to work together to find a political solution in Afghanistan instead of trying to “win on the battlefield.”
US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad held multiple rounds of peace talks with the Taliban since last year, but they were declared dead by Trump citing a deadly attack in Kabul.
Stoltenberg said that in order that the talks resume, “we need to see a real willingness from Taliban to make real compromises.”
He said that NATO went to Afghanistan together and will make decisions on future presence together.
“And when the time is right, we'll also leave together. So it's not either U.S. or NATO, it is U.S. and NATO together,” Stoltenberg said.
He said that NATO doesn’t want to stay in Afghanistan longer than necessary.
Source : Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)