Germany vows to further support Afghan peace process after troop pullout

BERLIN

Germany remains committed to back the fragile inner-Afghan peace process in the wake of Berlin’s just-completed troop withdrawal, said a government spokesman on Monday.

“We welcomed the (Afghan) negotiations which took place in Doha. We have always said that we are ready to continue to support the inner-Afghan peace process as much as we can,” Steffen Seibert told a press briefing in Berlin.

“By the way, will we work together with our partners to find a peaceful, permanent solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, even after our withdrawal,” he added.

Germany airlifted its last remaining soldiers from Afghanistan last week after nearly two decades, thus ending the country's most lethal military operation since World War II, alongside the nearly completed US withdrawal.

Over the last few years, Germany had the second-largest troop contingent in Afghanistan after the US, with around 160,000 soldiers reportedly deployed over the past two decades.

A total of 59 German soldiers died in Afghanistan, including 35 in combat operations.

The military mission in Afghanistan cost German taxpayers around €12.5 billion ($14.8 billion).

The German military was based in Afghanistan in recent years as part of the NATO-led training mission Resolute Support, and earlier, took part in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).