Washington. May 6. INTERFAX-The withdrawal of the US military contingent from Afghanistan is proceeding according to plan, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday.
"The President has decided to end the American involvement in the longest war. And we're going to do it. (...) The withdrawal is proceeding as planned, " Austin said at a briefing.
According to the head of the Pentagon, at the same time,"the United States is switching to new bilateral relations with Afghan partners in the field of security."
"We will work towards achieving our shared goals, as well as some new goals, in a variety of ways," Austin said.
He stressed that the United States will do everything in its power to carry out the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan "systematically and safely."
