KABUL (SW) – The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of NATO Foreign Ministers’ conference said on Tuesday that Washington and Brussels would decide together on the exit plan for Afghanistan.
Addressing a joint session with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, he said more than half of the foreign forces in Afghanistan are non-US because of the terrorist threat that was emanating from Afghanistan. “We’ve said, we’ve made a commitment in together, adapt together, and when the time is right, out together, that remains the guiding principle”, said Blinken.
He added the US and NATO are determined that Afghanistan not again become a haven for terrorism. “So we will make sure that whatever we do, we’re able to carry out that mission. But, this is an opportunity in the next couple of days and in fact this morning, to continue to talk through these issues together as allies and partners and to chart a course forward together”, said the US Secretary of State.
Speaking on the occasion, Stoltenberg said Canada and European allies have stood side by side the United States throughout many years in Afghanistan. “We need to demonstrate that we continue to provide our core responsibility, collective defence, security for all our allies and then I’m very optimistic that we’ll also be able to deal with differences also in the future”, he said.
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