An Afghan security force member stands guard at a security checkpoint in Ghazni province, eastern Afghanistan, Aug. 22, 2017. The Afghan Taliban on Tuesday said that the insurgents will continue the war against U.S. and its allies until the U.S.-led forces leave Afghanistan. (Xinhua/Sayed Mominzadah)
Following U.S. President Donald Trump's turn-about announcement that he is sending more troops to Afghanistan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expected to find a political solution to the crisis in Afghanistan.
"I think for the secretary-general what we want to stress is our hope that the international community will come together and help Afghanistan find a political solution that will bring peace to the country," said UN chief's spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
"And that's also through, obviously, the support and effort of the UN Mission there," he added, referring to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, a political mission established by the Security Council in 2002 to assist the Kabul government.
The presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan dated back from 2001.
Trump's announcement Monday night he had decided to send more troops -- he did not say how many more or when -- flies in the face of his campaign pledge to get the United States out of Afghanistan. It's the longest war in U.S. history.
When Dujarric was asked by a reporter if Guterres would help in finding a political solution, the spokesman responded: "as a matter of principle secretary-general's good offices are always available for any two parties who ask. That's a statement of principle. Our focus is on finding a political solution to the current crisis in Afghanistan and help the Afghan people who have suffered so much for decades."
