NATO issued a statement on Friday reiterating its call for a “comprehensive” peace agreement in Afghanistan and for “all sides” to “act urgently” to fulfill the commitments they have made to “lower violence.”
Referring to the current political crisis between President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, NATO said “Afghanistan’s political actors must seize this opportunity for peace” and come together to form an “inclusive” government.
Echoing recent statements from NATO ministerial meetings, the statement “urgently” called on the Taliban to “reduce violence and create the conditions conducive to commence negotiations,” and NATO further called on the Taliban to fulfill its commitments “to ensure that terrorists never again find safe haven on Afghan soil.”
NATO welcomed the establishment of an “inclusive negotiating team” from the Afghan government side and called on the Taliban to enter negotiations with this team “without further delay,” which is considered a key element of the US-Taliban agreement.
NATO encouraged both sides to “demonstrate goodwill by accelerating the release of prisoners,” and to embrace the international community’s call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, saying “the continued spread of the COVID-19 pandemic underscores the urgency of such measures. We call on the Taliban to do their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the Afghan people.”
Finally, NATO reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to Afghanistan and the Afghan security forces, with whom NATO and its partners have fought “shoulder-to-shoulder” in pursuit of “security and stability.”
