BELGIUM: NATO Defence Ministers gather for second day of talks about Afghanistan's future post combat troop withdrawal in 2014

Record ID: 862172

  • Title: BELGIUM: NATO Defence Ministers gather for second day of talks about Afghanistan's future post combat troop withdrawal in 2014
  • Date: 11th October 2012
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (OCTOBER 10, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF NATO BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • City:
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA94ZEPFYD4I3L5Y518AHG6LH48
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  • Story Text: NATO defence ministers met in Brussels for a second day of talks on Wednesday (October 10) with the future of Afghanistan on the agenda, paving the way for the alliance's training and support mission after the scheduled departure of combat troops in 2014.
    With the broad framework endorsed at May's Chicago summit, the meeting aimed to give military experts the green light to begin detailed planning of the new phase in the mission to train and advise Afghan forces.
    A recent surge of insider attacks has put pressure on the alliance's mission in the country but ministers attending Wednesday's meeting maintained that the current strategy of cooperation with Afghan security forces remains the right one.
    "The attacks of Afghan security forces against our soldiers are shocking and worrying. They are spread across the country. The commander of the ISAF troops in Afghanistan should first determine the causes. We will tell the Afghan defence minister today that he should do everything in his power to prevent this. The strategy to cooperate with the Afghans on security stays intact," German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere said as he arrived at the meeting.
    Western countries are keen to show their commitment to supporting Afghanistan will run beyond 2014 and to counter any suggestion they are running for the exit after a grinding 11-year conflict that has cost more than 2,000 U.S. lives and billions of dollars.
    Opening the meeting, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the departure of troops was not being sped up but that the agreed strategy was being maintained.
    "Between now and the end of 2014, as the Afghans continue to step forward, you will see draw-downs and redeployments of ISAF forces. This is not about speeding up, it is part of the plan. This is a careful, deliberate, and co-ordinated process involving all ISAF partners and the Afghan government," he said.
    Describing the conflict as the most ambitious since the Second World War, Rasmussen said the alliance was united in desiring a stable and secure future for Afghanistan.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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