NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that in order to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria it is necessary to build on the "significant reduction of violence," speaking at a summit of NATO defence ministers in Brussels on Friday.

Stoltenberg said that the allies agreed on the need to "safeguard the gains made in the fight against ISIS" welcoming the German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's call for an internationally monitored safe zone in northern Syria.

Commenting on NATO's operation in Afghanistan, Stoltenberg said "We will make decisions on our presence there together and when the time is right we will leave together. We don't want to stay in Afghanistan longer than necessary, but at the same time if we leave too early the price can be very high."

"These guidelines are not against a specific country or a specific company, but they establish some requirements which we expect all allies to meet because we depend as a military alliance that civilian infrastructure including 5G is working in peace time, in crisis and in conflict." Stoltenberg added.

On Tuesday, Russia and Turkey agreed to establish a 'safe-zone' in north-eastern Syria and to carry out joint border patrols in the area, as well as on giving Kurdish forces 150 hours to withdraw from the zone, starting from Wednesday, October 23.

According to the accord, Ankara's military operation in north-eastern Syria, dubbed 'Operation Peace Spring', will continue between the towns of Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, some 32 kilometres (20 miles) inside Syrian territory.