NATO Allies Intend to Fund Afghan Defense Forces Until 2020
15:43 15.06.2016(updated 15:52 15.06.2016)
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter welcomed on Wednesday the NATO counterparts' commitment to providing financial support to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in the period until the end of 2020.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The NATO mission to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces was launched on January 1, 2015 as a follow-up on the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission, which completed at the end of 2014. NATO foreign chiefs agreed in December 2015 to sustain the RSM presence during 2016.
"I was pleased today to hear from NATO counterparts the good news that they, too, intend to provide funding to sustain the ANDSF through 2020, like the United States does," Carter said.
Earlier in the day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance will continue its support mission to Afghanistan and is committed to supporting the country's national security forces
On Thursday, US media reported that the Obama administration would give US forces broader authority to advise conventional Afghan troops with missions the same way they have been assisting Afghan Special Forces personnel.
Afghanistan is struggling with a political, economical and social crisis as it attempts to tackle the Taliban's insurgency. The situation in the country has worsened in recent months, with the Taliban launching offensives in major cities.
© Sputnik
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