Exclusive: NATO nations to keep presence in Afghanistan, officials say

Germany, Turkey and Italy are set to keep their deployments in Afghanistan at current levels, senior NATO officials said on Monday after the U.S. government decided to prolong its 14-year-old military presence there.

Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's top commander in Europe, said he had assurances that NATO countries will continue alongside the nearly 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. While discussions of exact numbers are still continuing, the biggest national deployments are not in doubt, he said.

"Several of our largest contributors have already communicated with us that they will remain in their current posture," Breedlove told Reuters.  He declined to give details. But a second senior NATO official said Germany, Turkey and Italy were willing to remain in Afghanistan at their current levels.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said last week that Italy is considering keeping its soldiers in Afghanistan for another year. The official said that "our understanding is that is going to happen."

Germany, as the top NATO-country contributor, has around 850 troops in Afghanistan, followed by Italy with 760 and about 500 for Turkey, according to the latest NATO data.

"We should make any changes on our troop structure based on conditions on the ground, not on schedules," Breedlove said. "Other nations are already ringing in that they are committed."

Unlike the United States, NATO has never set an end date to its "Resolute Support" training mission in Afghanistan, currently a 6,000-strong force that also includes troops from some 40 countries, including NATO members, the United States and their allies.

A formal decision is expected to come at NATO's next meeting of its foreign ministers in Brussels in early December, a third official said.
Exclusive: NATO nations to keep presence in Afghanistan, officials say

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