AFGHANISTAN'S foreign minister Dr Zalmai Rassoul appears to have ruled out a combat role for Australian special forces after the withdrawal of coalition forces.
Australia has long considered an ongoing deployment of special forces in a counter-terrorism role post-2014, but Dr Rassoul said Afghanistan now had its own well-trained military and police able to maintain security.
He said Afghanistan and the US were now in talks on how many American troops would remain after 2014.
Talks were also under way with NATO and International Security Assistance Force nations on their ongoing military contribution once the mission ends.
"Of course there is not going to be a combat contribution," Dr Rassoul told reporters.
"The security cooperation between Afghanistan and Australia is going to be on training of our security forces and special forces but also in the military academy. It is not going to be a combat mission."
Defence Minister Stephen Smith said Australia was open to making a contribution of special forces in a counter-terrorism role under an appropriate mandate.
"That will be the subject of discussions between Afghanistan and the US, Afghanistan and NATO. That may or may not be required, necessary or desirable," he said.
"We have certainly also made it clear that in terms of our training effort, our training can also include, if required or wanted, a special forces training component."
Dr Rassoul, making his first visit to Australia, said the Afghan government believed repatriation of Afghan Hazaras, whose bid for asylum in Australia had been rejected, should be voluntary.
"We have been in discussions with the Australian government on the conditions of their return," he said.
"I should mention that Afghanistan is a safe place. It is much safer than it was and we hope that our citizens should stay in Afghanistan and help Afghanistan to develop."
Dr Rassoul said the Afghanistan government remained ready to conduct talk with those members of the Taliban who wanted peace.
He said the best place to do that would be inside Afghanistan but it had been agreed that a Taliban contact office would be established in Doha, Qatar.
"All the Taliban's leaders are sitting in Pakistan so we need the cooperation of Pakistan in order for them to be allowed to travel. We are in very close discussion with Pakistan for that purpose," he said.
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