A day after NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen, urged the NATO member states to continue their support for the military and humanitarian missions in Afghanistan, two countries, the Netherlands and Denmark have announced that until the upcoming Afghanistan elections bring in a new legitimate government, both countries will abstain from sending further troops in the region. Both NATO member states have also asked for revision of Afghanistan strategy by the Obama administration.

According to Soeren Gade (Defense Minister, Denmark),

“I think whoever is going to send more troops to Afghanistan will put up some conditions. They need to see the new Afghan president and say: ‘If we send more troops to your country, you have to deal with this, this and this.’ We have to make sure the new government in Afghanistan are committed to their job before we send any more troops to Afghanistan.”

He further elaborated on his statement stating that, Denmark will not be sending any more troops, till the time it is convinced that, the newly elected Afghanistan government is willing to work in conjunction with NATO.

A fellow NATO member, Germany, has also expressed its desire to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, after its commitment mandate expires in December this year. German defense minister stated that, the country is unwilling to commit any more forces than the 4,200 soldiers currently deployed to Afghanistan and might as well withdraw entirely from the region, once the mandate expires.

Via Associated Press.