00:55Belgium: NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan if asked - Hagel
Belgium: NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan if asked - Hagel
A post-2014 NATO troop presence in Afghanistan will require the approval of the Afghan government, US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel said during a press conference Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Hagel's words came at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), the first such meeting between Russian defence chiefs and NATO ministers in two years.
He said: "ISAF nations continue planning for the new train, advise and assist mission to help develop Afghan security capability after 2014. In the session we just completed, ISAF defence ministers endorsed General Breedlove's Strategic Planning Assessment for this new mission. The document will help the alliance and national governments move ahead with their planning efforts.
"A post-2014 NATO troop presence will require the approval of the Afghan government, a signed bilateral security agreement and a Status of Forces Agreement between Afghanistan and NATO."
In 2012, NATO member states agreed to hand over command of all combat missions in Afghanistan to Afghan forces by the middle of 2013, and to withdraw most of its troops by the end of 2014. Thousands of US troops are expected to remain beyond that deadline.
00:55Belgium: NATO troops to remain in Afghanistan if asked - Hagel
A post-2014 NATO troop presence in Afghanistan will require the approval of the Afghan government, US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel said during a press conference Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Hagel's words came at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), the first such meeting between Russian defence chiefs and NATO ministers in two years.
He said: "ISAF nations continue planning for the new train, advise and assist mission to help develop Afghan security capability after 2014. In the session we just completed, ISAF defence ministers endorsed General Breedlove's Strategic Planning Assessment for this new mission. The document will help the alliance and national governments move ahead with their planning efforts.
"A post-2014 NATO troop presence will require the approval of the Afghan government, a signed bilateral security agreement and a Status of Forces Agreement between Afghanistan and NATO."
In 2012, NATO member states agreed to hand over command of all combat missions in Afghanistan to Afghan forces by the middle of 2013, and to withdraw most of its troops by the end of 2014. Thousands of US troops are expected to remain beyond that deadline.