Montenegro: NATO's Stoltenberg welcomes US decision to keep troops in Afghanistan

General Secretary of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said that he welcomed the United States' decision to keep troops in Afghanistan during a press conference in Podgorica, Thursday, "I welcome President Obama’s announcement that the United States will maintain its current troop levels in Afghanistan through 2016 and will retain a substantial presence beyond 2016. This important decision paves the way for a sustained presence by NATO Allies and partners in Afghanistan," Stoltenberg said. "In the coming weeks, the Alliance will take key decisions about the future scope of the Resolute Support Mission. The significant United States contribution will be an important factor as we consider the way ahead. The Afghan security forces continue to carry out their security responsibilities across the country, in a very challenging security environment. So it's crucial that we continue to support them, practically and financially, to preserve the gains we have achieved in Afghanistan through our joint efforts over many years," the NATO chief added. During a press conference in Washington, Thursday, US President Obama said that US troops will remain in Afghanistan beyond his presidency in order to train local security forces and to prevent the country becoming a "safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again." The announcement marked an abrupt turnaround from a plan Obama outlined last year, in which he stated that only a security force of 1,000 would be kept at the US embassy in Kabul beyond his presidency, which ends in January 2017.