(Newswire.net— October 9, 2020) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the Alliance’s decision to withdraw its Afghan forces “together” with the United States, after the statement of US President Donald Trump on the withdrawal of US troops by Christmas.
“We have decided to leave Afghanistan together. We will coordinate the withdrawal,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference with the Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia, Zoran Zaev.
In the middle of the presidential election campaign, Trump stated that he would like to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by Christmas, faster than what was previously envisaged by the agreement between the United States and the Taliban.
“We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!” Trump stated on Twitter.
The Trump administration has pledged to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan by mid-2021 at the latest.
The agreement between the United States and the Taliban signed on February 29 was hailed as the best hope for peace in Afghanistan. Trump’s surprise tweet came shortly after the start of direct peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, in Qatar.
Afghan Taliban insurgents have welcomed Trump’s announcement that the last American troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by Christmas. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid welcomed Trump’s statement and assessed it as a positive step towards the implementation of the peace agreement between the United States and the Afghan insurgents.
“We are committed to the content of the agreement and hope for good and positive relations in the future with all countries, including the United States,” Mujahed said.
If the withdrawal of American troops was really to take place by December 25, it would be done eight months earlier than what was envisaged by the agreement between the United States and the Taliban reached in February of this year.
The agreement, which defined the withdrawal of Americans from Afghanistan within 18 months, after 19 years of activity in that country, obliged the Taliban to fight against terrorist groups, primarily the branch of the Islamic State in the country.