BRUSSELS
NATO is planning to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan unless a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) is signed between the United States and Afghanistan, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters ahead of a two-day Defense Ministerial meeting on Wednesday.
"We all know the facts. If the Bilateral Security Agreement between the United States and Afghanistan is not signed, there will be no NATO Status of Forces Agreement with Afghanistan. If there is no agreement, there will be no NATO troops in Afghanistan after 2014," Rasmussen said.
He stressed that this is not their preferred option, though. "But these are the facts that we need to take into account in our planning. And that is what we will discuss at our meeting.”
Rasmussen said that planning gets harder as time goes by, and there is no time to lose. He noted that Karzai does not seem to be ready to sign the pact.
NATO’s defense capabilities and the mission in Afghanistan are at the top of the agenda at the ministerial meeting, where NATO defense ministers together with ISAF and Afghan partners will discuss the progress of the ISAF mission and planning to train, advise and assist Afghan forces after 2014, according to a press release from NATO.
Ministers will also engage with Ukrainian officials in a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, and discuss the situation in Ukraine.
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