German Defense Minister: "NATO Anticipates Withdrawal from Afghanistan Alongside the United States"

[Asia Economy Reporter Sung Ki-ho] There are prospects that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a collective security system of the United States and Europe, will withdraw from Afghanistan. Earlier, the United States announced that it would withdraw its stationed troops by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that triggered the Afghan war.

On the 14th (local time), Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Germany's Minister of Defense, appeared on German television and stated, "NATO is expected to agree on the withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11 today."

She emphasized that the withdrawal of U.S. troops would be accompanied by the withdrawal of the German Bundeswehr, saying, "NATO will coordinate plans with the United States."

However, the broadcast did not specify the exact timing of the German Bundeswehr's withdrawal from Afghanistan. Previously, the German parliament had resolved to extend the Bundeswehr's deployment in Afghanistan until January 31, 2022.