London. August 10. INTERFAX-British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said that his attempt to form a coalition together with NATO allies to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of American troops was not successful.
"I tried to talk to the NATO countries, but almost all of them did not show interest. We tried to attract several like-minded countries. Some of them said that they liked it, but their parliaments did not," the minister said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
He noted: "It quickly became obvious that without the United States, as the main country (represented in Afghanistan-IF), which they were, these options were closed. All of us, starting with the Prime Minister, were saddened by the blood spilled in vain and the funds spent, because everything ends like this."
In particular, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp - Karrenbauer spoke out against sending military personnel to Afghanistan against the backdrop of an active offensive by the Taliban (the Taliban is a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation), who continue to expand their spheres of influence by seizing regional centers of the country.
"Are the society and the parliament ready to send the armed forces to war and maintain a large number of troops there, at least for one generation? If this is not the case, then the joint withdrawal of troops with our partners remains the right decision, " she said.
The politician warned that the new deployment of troops to Afghanistan will entail a long and difficult campaign.
Wallace and Kramp-Karrenbauer sharply criticized the agreement concluded by Washington with the Taliban movement (the Taliban is a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation) on the withdrawal of American troops.
"The deal was rotten, it was wrong. It saddens me that this deal has crossed out much of what has been achieved in Afghanistan over 20 years, " Wallace said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
Kramp-Karrenbauer noted that " Trump's failed deal with the Taliban was the beginning of the end."
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that the United States is deeply concerned about the Taliban offensive, but noted that the Afghan security forces have the capabilities to fight them.
"These are their armed forces, these are their provincial capitals, their people who need to be protected, and everything will really depend on how the leadership is implemented at this particular moment," he told reporters.
Kirby admitted that at present, the United States will be able to do "not so much"to support the losing positions of the Afghan security forces.
At the same time, as reported by the American media, the Taliban offensive is proceeding at such a pace that the United States has to use its aviation forces against the militants.
For example, the United States sent B-52 strategic bombers and AC-130 ground support aircraft to assist the Afghan troops.
At the end of July, Kirby confirmed that the United States continues to strike at the Taliban, the media add.
Against the background of the withdrawal of US forces and their partners from Afghanistan, over the past few weeks of the offensive, the Taliban militants have occupied the administrative centers of six provinces of Afghanistan.
