BRUSSELS: As NATO defence ministers began a two-day meeting here on Tuesday, the alliance secretary-general ruled out an immediate decision on the number of troops that would stay in Afghanistan post 2014.
“I wouldn’t expect this meeting to make decisions on the exact number of troops and trainers after 2014,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters. NATO and ISAF defence ministers would adopt guidelines for the new mission in Afghanistan, he said.
About the shape of the Resolute Support mission, beginning in 2015, he said certain elements were already clear and that it would be a non-combat campaign with a much smaller number of troops and trainers.
