Photo: UN
A UN Security Council mission may visit Afghanistan shortly for a first-hand update of the situation in war-torn Afghanistan, Kazakhstan’s UN Ambassador Kairat Umarov indicated Thursday.
The diplomat told reporters Thursday that he hopes to lead the council mission but wouldn’t discuss the timing.
The disclosure came after U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Tuesday briefed ambassadors of the 15-member council in New York about the Afghan war.
“We think it’s important for Security Council members to get the update of the situation from the ground,” Umarov, the council’s president for this month, said.
No mission from the Council has been to Afghanistan for seven years and a trip would give members an opportunity to understand the country’s needs and prospects.
“We would like them to feel the situation there and work with the Afghan government on what are the needs.”
“Afghanistan needs connectivity to the others in the region,” the president sad.
“While supporting the participation of the Taliban in finding a solution, it should be a process led by and owned by the Afghans.”
U.S. President Donald Trump in August unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan, vowing to deploy more troops, on top of the 11,000 already in the country, to train and advise Afghan security forces.
Afghanistan is expected to top the agenda when Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev meets Trump next week at the White House before heading to New York to chair a council debate on the conflict on January 19.
The Kazakh ambassador called for “a more comprehensive approach” to Afghanistan that puts a stronger focus on development, and is not limited to boosting security.
