Britain must be willing to talk to the Taliban and other extremist groups in order to try to stabilize the world, a British minister said in an interview with a local daily published on Saturday.
Britain and other democratic states should negotiate with organizations linked to violence, including elements of the Taliban and Hizbollah, in an attempt to prevent the long-term spread of terrorism, Defense Secretary Des Browne said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
"What you need to do in conflict resolution is to bring the people who believe that the answer to their political ambitions will be achieved through violence into a frame of mind that they accept that their political ambitions will be delivered by politics," Browne was quoted as saying.
The British government should be negotiating with some parts of the Taliban and Hizbollah, Browne said, although there is "presently" nothing to negotiate about with al-Qaida because "their demand is an end to our way of life", according to the daily.
Browne said he remains "optimistic" about the situation in Iraq, despite this week's violence in Basra, rejecting criticism of the decision to pull British troops out of the southern city.
"We left at exactly the right time," he said, insisting there is "no plan" for troops to return to the city.
He also said that British troops will move towards an "over watch" position in Afghanistan.
The defense secretary admitted that the present level of pressure on the Armed Forces is unsustainable.
Source:Xinhua
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