Source: Deustche Welle

Mircea Geoana, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General, defended on DW’s Conflict Zone the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, but recognized that the decision comes with important security and political risks. Speaking to host Tim Sebastian, Geoana said the military alliance is not “running away” from Afghanistan, as international troops leave the country after nearly 20 years. Geoana stressed NATO wants to continue to help Afghanistan, especially as the alliance is “fully aware” that there are security and political challenges ahead. “We know that putting an end to our mission is also entailing risks, we are lucid about these things,” said Geoana, a Romanian national who has been NATO’s deputy secretary general since October 2019. “But the decision to put an end to the certain point of a long, protracted mission was something which was taken by all our allies, by our American friends and allies. And now we’re opening a new chapter,” he added.