Russia hits Nato pullout from Afghan by 2014
Afghan defense chief also expresses worries about the draw down
But critics cite widespread drug use and serious desertion among government forces as signs that it remains unprepared to handle Taliban insurgents
BRUSSELS — Russia’s foreign minister sharply criticized Nato’s plan to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by 2014, saying on Thursday that coalition troops should remain in the country until Afghan government forces are capable of ensuring security.
“As long as Afghanistan is not able to ensure by itself the security in the country, the artificial timelines of withdrawal are not correct and they should not be set,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization plans to hand over lead responsibility for the war against the Taliban to the Afghan army and police by the middle of next year, then withdraw its troops by the end of 2014.
The alliance has started drawing down its forces, which reached a peak of about 140,000 last year.
Nato leaders said that Afghan forces are improving rapidly and will be able to counter Taliban guerrillas after 2014.
But critics have pointed to widespread drug use and the high desertion rate among government forces as signs that it remains unprepared to handle the insurgents.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance’s secretary general, responded to Lavrov’s criticism by saying the Afghan Government has agreed with the withdrawal schedule, and that it is “definitely not artificial.”
Appeal for funding
He also urged Russia, China and other non-nato countries to help fund the post2014 Afghan armed forces.
Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said that initially he also was worried about the draw down.
“Fortunately enough flexibility has been built into the plan ... so there will not be so much of an impact as many people were thinking,” he said.
The Afghan army and police are scheduled to expand to more than 350,000 members in the next several months.
Nato has handed over to them responsibility for security over half of the country’s population, and the transition is set to continue.
Lavrov, who attended a meeting of Nato defense and foreign ministers in Brussels, said China and other countries in Asia also are worried about the withdrawal schedule.
Moscow views Nato’s military effort in Afghanistan as crucial for its own security, including helping to prevent instability from spreading into ex-soviet Central Asia.
Russia, which is not a Nato member, has provided the alliance with air corridors and railway routes for carrying supplies to and from landlocked Afghanistan.