US to decide on withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan only together with NATO

The US and NATO haven’t yet decided on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan; the decision will be made only together with the NATO allies, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a briefing following the meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers, Report informs referring to TASS.

“We will consult with our friends, early and often,” he said, describing it as “a change from the past that our allies are already seeing.”

He gave no indication of when a decision on how many troops to withdraw, and when, might be coming.

But it seemed clear that Washington and NATO will want to give time, perhaps as much as six months, for a new effort at getting the Afghan government and the Taliban to reach a power-sharing government.

The risk is that after May 1, the originally agreed date for American troops to leave, the Taliban will renew attacks on NATO forces.