Britain's Cameron pushes for Afghan peace talks

2013-06-29 38

A window of opportunity.

That's how British Prime Minister David Cameron described the mood in Afghanistan for ending 12 years of war.

He flew into Kabul on Saturday to inject momentum into stalled peace talks between the Afghan state and the Taliban, saying the time to pursue peace is now.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON SAYING:

"I believe that the Taliban, watching all this progress, are beginning to realize that they are not going to secure a role in Afghanistan's future through terror and violence but by giving up their arms and engaging in a political process.

There is no other agenda that Britain has, that America has, that any country in the West has - no other agenda other than your stability, your security and your prosperity."

Cameron also used his visit to reinforce the message that, next year, British combat troops really will pull out of Afghanistan, where 444 British troops have been killed since 2001.

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