NATO Forces to Maintain Presence in Afghanistan

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan will maintain their presence until the appropriate time comes, said Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), on the 15th (local time).

Ahead of the NATO Defense Ministers Meeting scheduled for the 17th-18th, Secretary General Stoltenberg stated, "We do not want to stay in Afghanistan longer than necessary, but we will not leave until the right time comes."

He emphasized, "The Taliban must keep their promise to renounce terrorism and violence and engage in negotiations, and Afghanistan must not serve as a safe haven for terrorists."

US CNN reported that the Defense Ministers Meeting is expected to discuss the deployment of US and NATO forces, but considering that this is the first meeting since President Joe Biden took office, no specific announcements are expected on that day.

NATO forces have been stationed in Afghanistan since 2001 and have been responsible for training local troops since 2015.

Following Secretary General Stoltenberg’s remarks, the Taliban strongly opposed them in a statement. The Taliban said in the statement that there is a possibility that the US and its allies might violate their withdrawal promises and declared, "We will resume attacks on foreign troops after May."

Currently, they are focusing only on fighting the Afghan government forces, but if the foreign troop withdrawal is not completed within the promised timeframe, they plan to expand the frontlines.

The Taliban, who have previously condemned US airstrike participation, emphasized, "Our recent attacks are defensive, not offensive."

On Afghan soil, the Taliban’s offensives and terrorist activities are intensifying. Experts analyze that the Taliban appear to be strengthening their offensives to use them as leverage in negotiations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.