"“I want to publicly commend President Karzai for taking this courageous step in his determination to end the conflict and build a future of security and peace and prosperity for the Afghan people and I know President Holande shares my view on this. We’re going to continue to support these efforts in partnership with the Afghan government,” Obama said.
Obama’s comments came after Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, announced at a press conference on Tuesday that the group opened a new political office in Doha, Qatar with intent to begin negotiations with the Afghan government. The opening of the office signaled a new chapter in peace negotiations as previously the Taliban had been reluctant to sit down with the government in Kabul and instead preffered interfacing with Washington.
With the potential of recommenced peace talks still unclear, Obama was careful to express his optimism reservedly while still asserting his administration’s intention to maintain its military efforts against al Qaeda and its support for Afghan Security Forces.
“I want to repeat, we don’t anticipate that this process will be easy or quick, but we must pursue it in parallel with our military approach and we, in the mean time, remain fully committed to our military efforts to defeat al Qaeda and to support the Afghan National Security Forces,” he said.
Obama went on to say that he hoped a political solution could be brokered between President Karzai’s government and the Taliban that would pave the way for stable governance and an end to the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan."