UK Government welcomes Donald Trump 'stay and fight' pledge for Afghanistan
1 min read
Michael Fallon has welcomed Donald Trump’s declaration that the US will remain in Afghanistan to “fight and win” against the Taliban.
The US president announced last night that he would not put a time limit for withdrawing American troops from the country – and urged Nato allies to step up their own contributions to the war.
Although Mr Trump did not put a figure on troop numbers, media reports suggest he could increase the US presence by several thousand.
He said he was “confident” that Nato allies, including the UK, would step up their own contributions accordingly.
“We will ask our Nato allies and global partners to support our new strategy, with additional troop and funding increases in line with our own,” he said.
Defence Secretary Mr Fallon described the comments as “very welcome”.
“We have to stay the course in Afghanistan to help build up its fragile democracy and reduce the terrorist threat to the West,” the Conservative minister said.
There are currently 500 British troops serving in Afghanistan in support and training capacities, and Mr Fallon announced earlier in the year that an extra 85 would be deployed.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
