Moscow: NATO and the Afghan government have confirmed that the coalition forces will transfer full security responsibility to the Afghan military by the end of 2014, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday.
"Summing up NATO-Afghan visit: good progress. More work to do. But on track to hand full security responsibility to Afghans by end-2014," Rasmussen tweeted about NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
"Good meetings with President Karzai and Afghan ministers. We agree that the strategy and 2014 timeline for transition remain unchanged," he added.
According to the Afghan Defence Ministry, after the ISAF pulls out, the Afghan security forces will take over about 1,300 military bases.
Rasmussen said NATO ambassadors "have seen Afghans dedicated, keen to take charge," adding that "security [is] steadily improving" and that Afghanistan has "the strong and long-term support of the whole international community."
IANS
