Afghan people will not forgive those who stand in the way of peace: Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo

Newswire

Kabul: NATO Senior Civilian Representative for Afghanistan Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo has said that Afghan people will not forgive, nor forget those who stand in the way of peace.

“This is a historical opportunity for peace in Afghanistan. Everyone must seize this opportunity. Peace processes are not easy and they require compromise by the warring parties. Both parties to the conflict must continue to build confidence; finalize prisoner release and start intra-Afghan negotiations, showing real commitment to peace and the peace process,” he said in an interview.
Ambassador Pontecorvo said all Afghans demand peace. “There has been too much suffering, and yesterday was late for the conflict to end. There is no military solution to this conflict. It can only be solved through political negotiated settlement. Intra-Afghan negotiations must start as soon as possible,” he said.

The Ambassador said they must be truly inclusive to achieve durable peace. “And I welcome the efforts by the government so far on creating an inclusive negotiating team and on the progress it has made on the prisoners release. The government and Afghan leaders must continue building a united front. And durable peace must be built on achievements of the past 19 years, including human rights, women rights and rest of minorities, civil freedom and liberties, press freedom and the life,” he added.
Ambassador Pontecorvo said NATO had supported the efforts of Ambassador Khalilzad to bring the parties together to set stage for an Afghan-owned and Afghan led process.

“As part of the Doha agreement between the Taliban and the U.S., we have agreed to drawdown our forces in support of the peace process. We have now, in fact, come down from 16,000 troops. But no decision has been made on further reduction. Our presence in Afghanistan is conditions-based, and we will make adjustments depending on the progress on the peace negotiations,” he elaborated.

Ambassador Pontecorvo said the Taliban must live up to their commitments, cut ties with terrorist groups and enter the intra-Afghan negotiations at good faith as soon as possible.

“We have also supported the ANDSF through our Resolute Support Mission to train, advice and assist the Afghan security forces who had become increasingly professional. It was ultimately them with our assistance who have made the Taliban realize that they cannot win on the battlefield, and they have to sit at the negotiating table. We are proud of their achievements, including their professional commandos, air force and a quality leadership and interoperability. As NATO, we will continue our support to the ANDSF with training and funds and they provide security for Afghans and set the conditions for peace,” he said.