NATO to begin withdrawal from Afghanistan May 1

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, April 14 (KUNA) -- NATO Wednesday announced that it will start the withdrawal of its Resolute Support Mission forces from Afghanistan by May 1."In light of this and recognising that there is no military solution to the challenges Afghanistan faces, Allies have determined that we will start the withdrawal of Resolute Support Mission forces by May 1," said a North Atlantic Council ministerial statement this evening."This drawdown will be orderly, coordinated, and deliberate. We plan to have the withdrawal of all US and Resolute Support Mission forces completed within a few months. Any Taliban attacks on Allied troops during this withdrawal will be met with a forceful response," it said.The statement came after a videoconference of NATO foreign and defence ministers with the presence of US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.The NATO mission in Afghanistan has around 9,600 troops including 2,500 US troops."We will continue to support the ongoing Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process. We welcome the Istanbul Conference as an opportunity to move the peace process forward and to reinforce the progress made in Doha," said the NATO statement."We call on the Afghan government and the Taliban to adhere to their commitments to the peace process initiated by the US-Taliban agreement and the US-Afghanistan Joint Declaration," it said."Withdrawing our troops does not mean ending our relationship with Afghanistan. Rather, this will be the start of a new chapter," it added. (end) nk MENAFN14042021000071011013ID1101917726