Ghani: we are ready to end years of war in Afghanistan

KABUL (TOLO News): President Ashraf Ghani met with German Foreign Minister Heiko Josef Maas on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Sunday and discussed bilateral relations and the Afghan peace process, the Presidential Palace said in a statement.

In this meeting, Ghani said the only goal of the Afghan government is to end the war and violence in order to ensure a lasting peace in the country.

He pointed to a political consensus forming around the peace process and said, “we are ready to end the years of war in Afghanistan and we are fully committed.”

“Fortunately, the current political and social capacity has reached the level that we can make difficult decisions in this process,” Ghani said, as quoted in the statement.

According to the statement, President Ghani will begin “a series of consultations” with the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, the civil society and political groups next week to make them aware of the details of the peace talks developments and to discuss opportunities and possible risks.

Meanwhile, according to the statement, the German foreign minister said his country is ready to support the Afghan government and the US’s efforts for peace in Afghanistan.

He added that they will stand with the government and the people of Afghanistan and will make efforts to maintain achievements of the past two decades, particularly in women and children’s rights.

This comes as the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone conversation with Afghan government leaders – President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah – last week informed them about “notable progress” in the US-Taliban talks and the Taliban’s willingness for a reduction in violence.

Moreover, the US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in an address at the Munich Security Conference stated that a political agreement is the best option to end violence in Afghanistan.

“We have on the table right now a reduction in violence proposal that was negotiated between our ambassador and the Taliban. It looks very promising. We have now been for a few days now in the process of consulting, first with our congress–I have had many conversations–and then, secondly—concurrently–with our NATO allies in Brussels.”

He added: “I think there is general agreement–and it is my view as well–that we have to give peace a chance, that the best if not only way forward in Afghanistan is to a political agreement and that means taking some risk, that means enabling our diplomats and that means working together with our partners and allies on the ground to effect such a thing.”

During his Germany visit, Ghani met with various officials from different countries and discussed peace and reconciliation efforts in the country.