NATO Senior Special Representative to Afghanistan Nicholas Kay says Afghanistan can once again enjoy the peace and tranquility the country used to enjoy in the 70s. In an exclusive interview with the Heart of Asia, ambassador Kay said that there was a very good change for peace in the war-ravaged country, calling on all sides of the war to remain focused on finding the quickest and most direct way to get to a negotiation between the government of Afghanistan, Taliban and the wider voices of Afghan society.
HA: Thank you Mr. Ambassador for providing the opportunity to sit with you and have an interview on Afghan peace process.
What do you think NATO’s current role is in the efforts for peace in Afghanistan?
Ambassador Kay: NATO’s mission here is to support Afghan security forces, training, advising and assisting the army and the police. We do that to make sure that the Afghan security forces are strong, and the Taliban will not win on the battlefield, so there has to be a negotiated political settlement- a peace process. We are helping to create the conditions for that peace process.
HA: Do you think the conditions are ripe for making a peace deal at this stage?
Ambassador Key: I feel quite optimistic, the Taliban have shown and said that they are wanting to get back to the negotiating table, for example in Doha. Part of that negotiation is about agreeing way to start direct intra-Afghan negotiations between the government and the Taliban, and that is very very important. I think there is a willingness realization from the Taliban they will not win on the battlefield, they must negotiate. Here in Afghanistan, all Afghans are desperate for peace as well. Everywhere I go in the country, in the north, in the south, in the east- women, civil society, young people, everybody says now is the time to finish this war and to have peace. Also in the region, if I travel to Uzbekistan, Pakistan, I meet diplomats from Russia, China and everybody is saying they want to support Afghan peace process. There is a strong consensus there, so I hope now as we start 2020-next year, we will see some real progress towards ending this conflict.
HA: After the successful prisoner swap, how close do you think Afghanistan is to a ceasefire as President Trump during his visit to Bagram also said that Taliban have shown some flexibility for ceasefire?
Ambassador Kay: I think everybody wants and expects to see a reduction in violence, since it is stopping progress, economic progress in this country, social progress, and it also stopping progress on the peace track and the peace process. There needs to be a clear reduction in violence across the country. That will be a part, I am sure, of what is discussed in Doha between the US and the Taliban, and it will be, I am sure, a very very important part of any intra-Afghan dialogue that happens, if it is in Beijing or Germany or wherever. But the time for talking also is short, and what we need is some signs, some real signs of willingness and commitment from the Taliban to reduce the violence they are imposing on the Afghan people.
HA: What would be NATO’s stance if Taliban stick to return of Emarat as the main condition for peace in the intra-Afghan talks?
Ambassador Kay: The peace talks, I am sure when they happen, I hope they will happen as soon as possible, Afghan government, Taliban and wider Afghan society will be sitting at the table and talking about how a future Afghanistan, a future government, and system of government. That is a conversation Afghans must have among themselves and reach a decision among themselves. For us as international partners and friends, we also need to make sure that the people at the table negotiating are aware of the reality and the fact that many countries will not be able to support Afghanistan that does not respect human rights and is not democratic. This is not imposing conditions or imposing a view, this is just a reality and a fact. Legally, many countries, including NATO members, will not be able to support an Afghanistan that is not democratic and is not respecting human rights.
HA: If the current talks fail and the US decides to pullout its troops from Afghanistan without any political settlement or peace accord in place, what would be NATO’s stance?
Ambassador Kay: I think it is wrong to speculate now about who is going to decide to do what. What is clear is that there is a US commitment to sitting with the Taliban and discussing with the Taliban the agreement that they have been working on for many many months, and which NATO fully supports. That agreement between the US and the Taliban would then allow that part to open for direct intra-Afghan negotiations. Getting into the direct intra-Afghan negotiations is the priority and NATO fully supports and backs every effort to get there.
HA: If US decides to pullout the troops, will NATO follow suit or will remain committed to Afghanistan?
Ambassador Kay: NATO is an alliance of 29 countries, 29 allies who make decision together. NATO came here together in 2003 foremost start of the NATO mission. We have adjusted over time together, and I am sure we will make in the future decisions about our presence together. NATO is a strong alliance, and we do things as an alliance.
HA: Would NATO continue its support for Afghan National Defense and Security Forces after the foreign forces withdrawal?
Ambassador Kay: NATO leaders back at the Lisbon Summit gave very clear view that NATO would like to have a long term partnership, what they call an enduring partnership, with Afghanistan. That means to continue to do what NATO does with many other countries around the world to have a partnership that includes training, it includes institutional links, and capacity building, if necessary. So that is the aspiration and wish on the NATO side, but of course it will also be a decision for Afghanistan to make as well. After a peace process, we can’t predict what Afghan government will want, but NATO’s interest in being an enduring partner for Afghanistan is clear and our commitment is firm.
HA: What will be NATO’s role in post-peace Afghanistan; it means what would NATO prefer to do for Afghanistan if it reaches peace after decades of war?
Ambassador Kay: As I said, NATO is very committed to offering an enduring partnership with Afghanistan. I can fully expect that Afghanistan will have a need for international assistance in the security sector. The Afghan army and police, for example, are funded now almost entirely by international community including NATO. Probably, the funding requirement will continue for some time. Similarly, the training needs of the Afghan police and army in the future will also still be there, and NATO is helping now training and advising. NATO again would be willing to continue that in the future. Also Afghanistan even after peace settlement and agreement with Taliban may still face security challenges and threats. There could still be a Daesh threat, there could be an Al-Qaida threat, and there could be threats from local terrorists and narcotrafficking groups, so possibly Afghanistan in the future will be looking for some international assistance and help with those threats.
HA: Do you think NATO can play a role to help Kabul prevent the regional country, especially neighboring countries, from intervening in post- peace Afghanistan affairs?
Ambassador Kay: I think it will be extremely important that the regional countries and neighboring countries are closely involved in supporting the peace process as we go forward, and when there is a final peace agreement and peace settlement as well the neighboring countries and regional countries are supportive of that agreement. I do believe it is increasingly in everyone’s interest for that to happen. The future of the region Central Asia, South Asia depends to a large extent on stable and secure Afghanistan, so that the people can trade with it and across it. Energy supplies can move from Central Asia to South Asia and agricultural exports can move from South Asia to Central Asia. The connectivity between the region is in everyone’s interest, and the connectivity depends on security and stability in Afghanistan.
HA: You mean there would be no reason for regional and neighboring countries to interfere in Afghanistan’s affairs.
Ambassador Kay: There will be every reason for the regional countries to support the peace process, and to support a stable and independent Afghanistan.
HA: What do you think would be the best course of action to save Afghanistan’s major achievements of the past two decades?
Ambassador Kay: When the Afghans sit together with the Taliban at the negotiating table, then absolutely they need to make it very clear that Afghanistan of today is very different to the Afghanistan of 20 years ago when the Taliban were here in Kabul. Afghanistan today across the country has transformed. Young people, women, media, and educated people want democracy, they want their right to vote and choose their leaders and their government. They want their human rights to be fully respected. At the negotiating table, the new Afghanistan will need that to make this very clear to their Taliban brothers.
HA: You have been working in Afghanistan for years and you know the ground realities, how optimistic you are about peace?
Ambassador Kay: Indeed, even before working in Afghanistan I visited Afghanistan as a tourist, if you like, in 1976 three years before the Soviet Union invaded the country. I feel now as we staring 2020 that there is a very good chance, we could return to what Afghanistan enjoyed in 1970s, which was security and peace. The people were free to travel anywhere in the country, not in fear of going out of their houses to school or the market and never knowing if they were going to come back again. I think Afghanistan will enjoy that peace and tranquility again.
HA: At the end, would you please share your message to the warning sides of Afghan war including US, Afghan government and Taliban?
Ambassador Kay: I believe that everybody must now remain focused on finding the quickest and most direct way to get to a negotiation between the government of Afghanistan, Taliban and the wider voices of Afghan society. Afghans need to be united, they need to be confident of their values and confident of the principles that they defend, and go into whatever negotiation with a great strength and unity of the Afghan people.
HA: Thank for the interview.
Ambassador Kay: Thank you for coming and interviewing me.
