BRUSSELS, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- NATO will support the Afghan government's initiative to talk to the Taliban, said the alliance on Tuesday.

If the Afghan government chooses to negotiate with the Taliban, NATO will support this initiative, said NATO spokesman James Appathurai.

"Talking to the Taliban is not for NATO to take the lead on. It is not really for NATO to comment on. If the Afghan government chooses to engage and talk to the Taliban, that is there decision to take ... If they choose to do this, NATO will support them in it," Appathurai told a briefing ahead of a NATO defense ministers' meeting.

But a senior U.S. official at NATO cautioned on Tuesday that there might be no gains in negotiations with hardcore Taliban elements.

The official, who asked not to be named, said the United States supports engagement with Taliban elements that are willing to lay down their arms and work for a stronger Afghan society.

"There is a hardcore of people who don't share that vision, who are actively trying to bring down the Afghan government and re-impose a very harsh rule on the people of Afghanistan -- a harsh rule that people there don't want. I am not sure that there is a lot to gain from negotiating with that kind of group that has one aim, which is destroy Afghanistan," said the official.

Afghanistan is expected to dominate the agenda of the ministerial meeting in Budapest, Hungary, later this week.

The Budapest meeting is overshadowed by comments of a high-ranking British officer over the weekend that the war with the Taliban cannot be won. At the same time, the Afghan government is showing willingness to talk to the Taliban, seven years after the U.S.-led war ousted the fundamentalist movement.

Britain's military commander in Afghanistan, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith told the Sunday Times that a military victory over the Taliban was "neither feasible nor supportable."

He believed that the correct strategy was to contain the insurgency to a level where it is not a strategic threat to the longevity of the elected Afghan government.

In response, Appathurai said Carleton-Smith's comments might be "unfortunate use of words," and should not be over-dramatized.

But he argued that a military role is essential although the solution to Afghanistan cannot be exclusively military.

There should be a political element. There should be reconstruction, development and improved governance, he said. "But the military is an essential part of creating the framework on which the other elements, which are necessary to success, will be built."

The ministers are expected to discuss ways to fill the shortfalls that the NATO-led troops are facing as well as security needs for the presidential elections next year.