NATO chief Stoltenberg urges coordinated efforts over Afghanistan troops withdrawal

Amid the ongoing discussion on troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the final pull-out of troops will be a decision for NATO members to take together 'in a coordinated way'. Earlier, US President Donald Trump had announced that he wants to unilaterally withdraw about 2,500 US troop levels from Afghanistan by mid-January 2021.

According to BBC reports, the NATO chief said that the United States was continuing to provide support and the allies had to make a decision in 2021 whether to pull out the troops. He added that the decision will completely depend on the progress of peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. NATO went into Afghanistan together and it will require to leave together when the time is right, Stoltenberg said.

READ | NATO chief warns of high price if troops leave Afghanistan

READ | Stoltenberg: NATO FMs need choose path in Afghanistan

'Military alliance is grappling with a dilemma'

On Monday, Stoltenberg said that the military alliance is grappling with a dilemma over its future in Afghanistan as the US starts pulling troops out while attacks by the Taliban and extremist groups are in fact on the rise.

More than 17 years after taking the lead on international security efforts in Afghanistan, NATO now has around 11,000 troops from dozens of nations there helping to train and advise the national security forces, Stoltenberg said. Most of the personnel are from Europe and other NATO partner countries, he added. Moreover, the alliance depends heavily on the US armed forces for air support, transport and logistics. European allies would struggle even to leave the country without US help, and Trump’s decision to pull almost half the American troops out by mid-January has put NATO in a tough spot.

"We face a difficult dilemma. Whether to leave and risk that Afghanistan becomes once again a safe haven for international terrorists. Or stay, and risk a longer mission, with renewed violence," Stoltenberg was quoted as saying by news agency Associated Press as he spoke to reporters on the eve of a videoconference between NATO foreign ministers.

READ | US to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan, Iraq by January 2021

READ | Trump to cut US troops in Afghanistan & Iraq to 2500; Republicans slam 'humiliating' plan

(With agency inputs; Image-AP)