Kerry reiterates U.S. support to Afghan forces

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani (R) and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attend a joint press conference in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, April 9, 2016. The visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday reiterated United States support to Afghan security forces and the people of Afghanistan. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah)

KABUL, April 9 -- The visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday reiterated United Statessupport to Afghan security forces and the people of Afghanistan.

"The United States remains fully committed to the mission to train, advice and to assist the Afghan security forces as they combat the insurgency to protect their people," Kerry told a joint press briefing with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.

Kerry added that the U.S. will firmly continue to help Afghans in the fight against Taliban militants and Islamic State (IS) terror outfit, saying "we are also deepening our counter-terrorism cooperation."

The top U.S. diplomat arrived in Kabul earlier on Saturday for an unannounced visit.

The comments came as the violence has been on the rise in countryside as the spring and summer known as fighting season is drawing near. The Taliban insurgent group and IS militants have also increased their attacks since the drawdown of foreign forces over the past two years.

Nearly 13,000 foreign forces are currently stationed in Afghanistan within the framework of the NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission to help Afghan forces in the field of training and advising.

He made the comments as two international conferences on Afghanistan are scheduled to be held later this year -- Warsaw in July and Brussels in October - - will focus on security and development on the top of its agendas respectively.

Regarding the presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2016, Kerry said that the decision will depend on the evaluation of U.S. military commanders on the ground.

Replying to a question regarding the stalled peace process with the Taliban, Kerry said that there was still hope for the peace.

In February, a quadrilateral group of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States had invited the Taliban groups to take part in direct talks with Kabul by the first week of March.

However, the Taliban rejected the offer.

"So again, today, we call on Taliban to enter into a peace process, legitimate process, the real process, they provides equal rights protection for all Afghans and brings to an end to violence in the suffering, that the people of this country have endured for so many years," Kerry said.

Earlier on Saturday, Kerry and Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani joined other high-ranking Afghan and U.S. officials to attend the third U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Commission meeting held in Presidential Palace.

They exchanged views on security and bilateral ties, and discussed the recent Afghan political and economic developments. The meeting aimed to review the progress in the above fields outlined in the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed by the two countries in 2012.

The meeting highlighted the continuation of the U.S. security presence beyond 2016 to carry out two important missions, including training, advising, and assisting Afghan forces and "cooperating bilaterally on shared efforts to counter terrorism."