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Taliban warn NATO to push ahead with troop withdrawal in Afghanistan
by AFP Staff Writers
Kabul (AFP) Feb 13, 2021

Germany wants troops to stay on in Afghanistan
Berlin (AFP) Feb 13, 2021 - Germany wants to extend its military presence in Afghanistan, where it has the second largest contingent after the United States, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Saturday.

Peace negotiations between the government and the Taliban "will not be concluded before the end of March," when Germany's annual mandate is due to expire, he told the Funke media group.

"That is why we must prepare for different scenarios, including a new mandate with the Bundestag", Germany's lower house of parliament.

An agreement between the United States and the Taliban stipulates that all US forces should withdraw by May 2021.

But a top US official warned on Friday that President Joe Biden faced "serious dilemmas" as the deadline approaches, and the Taliban show no sign of ending their violence.

The new US leader has ordered a review of the deal Washington cut with the Taliban last year. It promised the withdrawal of all foreign forces by May 1 in return for security guarantees from the militants and a commitment to peace talks with the Afghan government.

NATO defence ministers are also to discuss later this month whether the alliance's 10,000-strong mission should stay or go.

Donald Trump in his final days as US president unilaterally reduced US forces in Afghanistan to just 2,500 -- the lowest since the start of the war in 2001.

Several groups in Germany's parliament, in particular the liberals and far-left, have called recently for a strategy of disengagement from Afghanistan after 20 years of military presence in the country.

The Taliban on Saturday warned NATO against seeking a "continuation of war," as the alliance weighs a planned withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Defence ministers from the Washington-backed allies are to meet next week to discuss whether NATO's 10,000-strong mission -- mostly carrying out support roles -- should stay or go, as Taliban violence rages.

"Our message to the upcoming NATO ministerial meeting is that the continuation of occupation and war is neither in your interest nor in the interest of your and our people," the Taliban said in a statement.

"Anyone seeking extension of wars and occupation will be held liable for it just like the previous two decades."

Former US president Donald Trump struck a deal with the Taliban last year under which the United States agreed foreign troops would leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in return for conditions including cutting ties with Al-Qaeda and opening peace talks with the Kabul government.

President Joe Biden's administration has said it would review the deal, with the Pentagon accusing the Afghan insurgent group of not meeting its commitment to reduce violence.

The Taliban in turn have accused the US of breaching the agreement and insisted they will continue their "fight and jihad" if foreign troops do not leave by May.

In his final days in office, Trump unilaterally reduced US forces in Afghanistan to just 2,500 -- the lowest since the start of the war in 2001.

Germany, meanwhile, said Saturday that it wants to extend its military presence in Afghanistan, where it has the second largest contingent after the United States.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the Funke media group that peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban "will not be concluded before the end of March," when Germany's annual mandate is due to expire, meaning Germany would have to prepare for "different scenarios."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly insisted that members of the alliance must decide "together" on the future of their mission. He has said he hopes Biden will coordinate more closely with allies.

"If we decide to leave, we risk to jeopardise the peace process, we risk to lose the gains we have made in the fight against international terrorism over the last years," the NATO chief said earlier this month.

"If we decide to stay we risk to continue to be in a difficult military operation in Afghanistan and we risk increased violence also against NATO troops."

The Taliban on Saturday said the group was "seriously committed" to the US deal, claiming it had "significantly decreased the level of operations."

Insurgents have launched a string of offensives threatening at least two strategic provincial capitals in southern Afghanistan in recent months.

The US and the Afghan government have blamed them for a wave of deadly attacks on journalists, politicians, judges and activists.

The warring sides launched peace talks in September, but progress has been slow and overshadowed by the violence.


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