NATO pledged on Saturday to hand over responsibility for security in Afghanistan to Afghans by the end of 2014, but also vowed not to leave the country to face the Taliban threat alone.
"Today marks the beginning of a new phase in our mission in Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on the second day of NATO’s Lisbon summit, which is also being attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
“We will launch the process by which the Afghan government will take leadership for security throughout the country, district by district,” Rasmussen went on.
He said however that this did not mean that NATO would leave the war-ravaged state entirely.
"Let there be no doubt about our continuing commitment. Afghanistan’s fight against terrorism is of strategic, global importance," he said.
NATO leaders are due to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday to discuss continuing Russian cooperation with transit and helicopter supplies.
MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti)
