Thursday, 18 February 2021_NATO defense ministers have met to discuss the possibility of staying in Afghanistan beyond the May withdrawal deadline agreed between the Taliban militant group and the United States under the administration of former US President Donald Trump.
Key on the agenda at the two-day virtual conference in Brussels is the future of the US-led coalition forces in the war-torn country.
Speculation is that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will not make any firm announcement when the matter is discussed on Thursday.
The administration of President Joe Biden is reviewing whether to stick to a looming May 1 deadline to withdraw or risk a bloody backlash from the Taliban.
Other NATO members have also signaled a desire within the alliance for staying in Afghanistan beyond the deadline. They are willing to remain in Afghanistan, if Washington stays too.
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Wednesday that peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government “have not yet been concluded in such a way that the troops can now leave Afghanistan.”
“We can already say that we are not yet in a position to talk about the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan,” the German minister said as she arrived for the meeting.
“This also means a changed security situation, an increased threat for the international forces, also for our own forces. We have to prepare for this, and we will certainly discuss this.”
A recent study mandated by the US Congress has called for a delay in the pullout, warning it would effectively hand the Taliban a victory.
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