Afghan President: NATO is very interested in keeping its forces in Afghanistan

SANAA, Jan. 30 (YPA) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said that NATO members are very interested in keeping the NATO forces in Afghanistan, but that they cannot survive without significant forms of support from the United States.
Speaking to an online program sponsored by the Aspen Institute, Ghani said that he had spoken to the leaders of Canada, Norway and Germany, as well as Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, and added that the alliance was “extremely interested in continuing” its mission in Afghanistan, according to Reuters.
The Afghan president added, “However, NATO, without American support tools, will not be able to continue its mission,” referring to a military term that includes air and intelligence support and other forms of support provided by the United States.
Ghani also said that the United States, which now has only 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, and NATO “must take a very tough stance on the conditionality-based approach” to withdraw their forces.
The Afghan president’s statement comes as the new administration of US President Joe Biden is reviewing the US-backed peace process and the agreement concluded with the Taliban in February of last year, which includes a deadline for the complete withdrawal of US forces in May.
The 2020 agreement between Washington and the Taliban stipulates that the withdrawal of US forces from the longest war the United States has fought will be based on conditions on the ground and the militant movement’s fulfillment of its obligations, including ending its cooperation with Al Qaeda. The Taliban deny the presence of al Qaeda militants in Afghanistan.