Brussels – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg fears that violence in Afghanistan could increase before any possible peace talks, based on how conflicts in other countries have played out.
“It may actually become worse before it becomes better in Afghanistan,” Stoltenberg said on Wednesday during a meeting of foreign ministers from the alliance’s countries in Brussels.
Stoltenberg, citing other conflicts, said that sometimes there is an uptick, an increase in violence because the different parties try in a way to gain the best possible position at the negotiating table.
The NATO military alliance has for years been supporting the Afghan government in the fight against the Taliban.
It responded to the Taliban’s revival and the Islamic State extremist group’s expansion into Afghanistan by increasing its military presence to around 160,000 troops for training and consulting local forces.
Media report says an end to the mission in Afghanistan is currently not foreseeable.
Cornelius Zimmermann, the alliance’s highest civilian representative in Afghanistan, on the sidelines of the meeting has said NATO is clearly keeping on track.
“We have obligated ourselves to stay as long as the Afghans want and as long as necessary to give the country a peaceful and stable future,’’ Zimmermann added. (dpa/NAN)