(VOVworld) – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on the Afghan government to resume peace talks with the Taliban militant group despite escalating violence in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani at a press conference at the foreign ministry in Kabul on August 30, 2015. (AFP photo)

In an address on Sunday in Kabul, Steinmeier called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to move ahead with faltering peace talks with the Taliban. Steinmeier pledged Berlin's continued support for Afghanistan in training Afghan security forces.