“2021 is a pivotal year for NATO [not only because of the coronavirus pandemic] but also because it needs to decide on its presence in Afghanistan,” he said.
NATO Secretary General also welcomed the resumption of peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban which began Wednesday in Doha following a three week pause, but he added that many challenges and uncertainties remain.
“[Nevertheless], peace talks are the only path to peace, the only way forward to a peaceful negotiated solution,” he continued.
Mr. Stoltenberg added that NATO Defense Ministers will assess the future of North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s mission in Afghanistan in February.
According to a landmark peace deal signed between the United States and the Taliban on February 29 last year, Taliban are required to cut ties with al-Qaeda and other international terror groups, and in return, all U.S. and other foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
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