"I welcome the statements by the government of Afghanistan & the Taliban on a 3-day ceasefire over Eid. All parties should seize this opportunity for peace, for the benefit of all Afghans. NATO remains committed to Afghanistan’s long-term security," Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Meanwhile, US Special Representative Khalilzad said that this opportunity for peace should not be missed and that the United States will do its part to help.
"Other positive steps should immediately follow: the release of remaining prisoners as specified in the US-Taliban agreement by both sides, no returning to high levels of violence, and an agreement on a new date for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations," Khalilzad wrote on Twitter, adding that "this development offers the opportunity to accelerate the peace process."
The Taliban militant group declared a three-day ceasefire in Afghanistan on Saturday on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim holiday marking the end of the fasting period.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the ceasefire declaration, saying that the government was extending the offer of peace and that he had ordered the Afghan National Defense Security Forces to comply with the truce that takes effect on Sunday.
The United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement at the end of February. The main premises of the deal are the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and the launch of intra-Afghan peace talks, subject to a mutual exchange of prisoners. There has been little progress in the Afghan peace process amid continuing violence in the country.
