WARSAW, April 17 (Itar-Tass) —— Afghanistan will need additional assistance after the NATO pullout in 2014, the Presidents of Poland, Latvia and Estonia told a Tuesday press conference in Warsaw. It was dedicated to the upcoming NATO summit.
In the words of Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, they had discussed details of the Afghan situation, in particular, the complete fulfillment of the NATO strategy of the completion of the Afghan mission before the end of 2014 and further assistance to that country in other forms.
The international presence in Afghanistan should be guaranteed after 2014 if the Afghan government wishes that, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said. Most probably, the form of this presence will be different from what it is now, he said.
It is necessary to find a solution for further development of Afghanistan, Latvian President Andris Berzins said. Military support will not be sufficient after 2014, so it is necessary to find a way of Afghan stabilization and creation of state institutions, he said, adding that a failure of that mission would mean everyone’s defeat.
An agreement between NATO, the Afghan government and countries participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on the gradual transfer of full power in the provision of Afghan security to the Afghan national security forces by the end of 2014 was concluded in 2010. NATO plans that most of the military contingents would leave Afghanistan within the next two years and only a small auxiliary contingent would stay in that country.