KABUL – NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Monday has admitted thatAfghan Taliban will come back to Kabul if NATO leaves Afghanistan.
He said that the alliance and its allied partners must ensure thatAfghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for international terrorists.
Speaking at a pre-ministerial meeting in NATO headquarters, Stoltenbergstated that the challenge stills remain great in Afghanistan, adding thatthe cost of leaving is bigger than the cost of staying, TOLONEWS hasreported.
“We must continue to ensure that the country never again becomes a safehaven for international terrorists. Over the past months, we have steppedup our support – with more forces and funding, Because the cost of leavingis bigger than the cost of staying,” said Stoltenberg.
According to the NATO chief, the challenge in Afghanistan still remainsgreat.
Read Top Stories
In a question about the importance of the NATO presence in Afghanistan,NATO chief said: “It is important for NATO to keep its presence inAfghanistan, because we have to prevent Afghanistan from once againbecoming a platform, to plan to organize, to execute terrorist attacksagainst our own countries… There is high cost of staying in Afghanistan,there is high financial cost for NATO allies and there is a high humancost. We have had fatalities also in the past weeks. but we have to comparethe cost of staying with the cost of leaving.
“If NATO and NATO allies leave Afghanistan, we have to be prepared there isa high risk that the Taliban will come back, and the different terroristorganizations will be able to gain ground and establish strong footholds inAfghanistan. For instance, we know that al-Qaeda is there, we know thatISIS (Daesh) is there. So this is about helping Afghanistan, but its alsoabout helping ourselves.
