NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on the Taliban on Tuesday (August 17) to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a breeding ground for terrorism, and said that the Western Defense Alliance has agreed to send more evacuation aircraft to Kabul.
Western powers are scrambling to deal with the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and the consequences of the Taliban’s imminent takeover of the government.
“We never intended to stay in Afghanistan forever,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, adding that the goal of the military alliance in the country is to help build a viable country, not to maintain a permanent presence there.
Stoltenberg also pointed out that the agreement reached by former US President Donald Trump and the Taliban to withdraw before May of this year is a decision that “all allies agree to follow.”
In the communiqué of the summit in early June, NATO leaders stated that “withdrawing does not mean ending our relationship with Afghanistan”. After the accusations made by European members, they will “open a new chapter” and will still involve financial support. And training. The Biden administration failed to fully negotiate with allies before the announcement.
Before his remarks, he chaired a meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels to discuss the security implications of the overall victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan in recent weeks.
NATO has been leading international security efforts in Afghanistan since 2003, and ended its combat operations in 2014, focusing on training national security forces. After nearly two decades of existence, the coalition completed its military operations in Afghanistan and withdrew most of its troops from the country this summer. The alliance still has a diplomatic representative office in the capital Kabul.
Taliban insurgents entered the capital on Sunday and said they are expected to be in power within a few days.
After removing thousands of people eager to flee the country from the runway at Kabul Airport, military flights to evacuate diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan restarted early on Tuesday morning.
“What we have seen in the past few weeks is a military and political collapse,” Stoltenberg said, echoing the remarks made by US President Joe Biden on Monday, in fact accusing Afghan political leaders of causing the country to quickly fall into Afghanistan. Hands. Taliban.
Stoltenberg said: “All allies agree that it is time to end the military presence and NATO’s presence in Afghanistan…knowing that the Taliban may regain control of this country.”
“The collapse was rapid and sudden (…) We must soberly ask a question, why the troops we have trained and equipped for so many years cannot resist the Taliban?” He said, adding that “there are many lessons to be learned.”
“Part of the Afghan security forces fought bravely. But in the end, Afghan political leaders failed to stand up against the Taliban and failed to achieve the peaceful solution that the Afghans desperately wanted,” Stoltenberg said.
“The defeat of the Afghan leader led to the tragedy we are witnessing today,” he added.
The NATO official stated that the alliance has suspended all support to the Afghan government “because there is no Afghan government that NATO can support”, adding that all funds for the local army in the Afghan National Army Trust Fund have been frozen.
He also called for an “honest and clear assessment” of NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan, which also shows that NATO allies have made mistakes. Despite NATO’s two decades of efforts, the Afghan security forces have completely collapsed.
Stoltenberg said that there are still about 800 NATO civilians providing key functions; airport operations are now “gradually restored”, noting that NATO member states will send more evacuation aircraft to the Afghan capital Kabul.
“We remain committed to completing the evacuation as soon as possible, including our Afghan colleagues,” he said.
At the same time, Stoltenberg issued a warning that the Taliban must prevent Afghanistan from becoming a hotbed of terrorism.
“It is the responsibility of those in power to ensure that international terrorists do not regain their footing,” he told reporters in Brussels.
“The NATO allies will remain vigilant. If we see terrorist organizations trying to establish their position again, we have the ability to fight terrorist organizations from a distance,” Stoltenberg added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevrut Cavusoglu stated that his government itself is a NATO member state and is negotiating with Afghan parties, including the Taliban, to take control of the country by Islamic radicals. The messages sent since then have taken a positive attitude.
The day before Kavusoglu’s remarks, Turkish security sources said that after other NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan, Ankara abandoned its plan to defend and operate Kabul’s airport because of the chaos brought about by the Taliban’s victory.
“We are maintaining dialogue with all parties including the Taliban,” Cavusoglu said at a press conference in Jordan.
“We are positive about the messages the Taliban have sent to foreigners, diplomats or their own people so far. We also want to see these actions.”
[Edited by Benjamin Fox]
