Dobbins said that the “longer we postpone this, the more of that support we are going to lose. The coalition will begin to fragment, the amount of assistance that will be committed will start to erode, and so I felt we really can't afford to delay this much longer.”
He added: “I can't say that the president really changed his position as it has been expressed publicly and privately.”
Dobbins visited Pakistan before arriving in Kabul for a short visit.
He said efforts to get peace talks started was the main focus of his visit, but that we was not optimistic because of Taliban resistance to such negotiations.
“This is something we have tried to advance for some time,” he said. “The major obstacle has been the Taliban, but we are eager to try to advance the process and we believe that Pakistan is trying to play a helpful role, which is a relatively new and positive factor which suggests over time there may be opportunities here.”
During a visit to Afghanistan last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his country was committed to helping bring peace to Afghanistan, and pointed to the recent release of a senior Taliban leader as a sign of it.
The Taliban's former No. 2, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was set free in September after years in detention and some officials hope he can help jumpstart the peace process.
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