NATO will stay in Afghanistan as long as possible: Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo

Newswire

Kabul: NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo said this week that NATO will stay in Afghanistan as long as possible to assist in the difficult time.

“We will stay here as long as possible to assist Afghanistan in this difficult time. The role played by the NATO it carries out to keep the international airport operational and to allow the country not to be isolated from the world,” he said in a tweet.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier said NATO’s senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo, would remain at the airport “to coordinate and facilitate the evacuation” of NATO staff and Afghan employees.

“The Taliban must respect and facilitate the safe departure of all those who wish to leave the airport and, as well, roads and border crossings must be open,” he said. “All Afghan men, women and children deserve to live in safety and dignity.”
NATO has been leading international security efforts in Afghanistan since 2003 but wound-up combat operations in 2014 to focus on training the national security forces.
Following the US decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, the allies faced a difficult choice, according to Stoltenberg.