WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2021) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday met with US Defense Secretary Lloyed Austin at the Defense Department and said they will continue to modernize the Western military alliance to show its strength and unity.
"We will continue to modernize the alliance to demonstrate that we are stronger when we stand together. It is obvious that the crisis in Afghanistan does not change the main message, does not change the need for Europe and America to stand together stronger in NATO," Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg said the decision to leave Afghanistan was a difficult one, but all NATO allies accepted the decision to do so after extensive consultations.
Austin thanked Stoltenberg for his role during the withdrawal and evacuation from Afghanistan.
"NATO left Afghanistan as a unified alliance," Austin said.
In early August, the Taliban (banned in Russia) finished the capture of Afghanistan by entering capital city of Kabul on August 15. The US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan was completed on August 31 as per an agreement with the Taliban, ending the nearly 20-year US military presence in the country.
