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Federal Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
It is currently unclear how the NATO mission in Afghanistan will continue.
Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) surprisingly traveled to the country on Friday to visit the troops.
She arrived in the early hours of the morning at the Bundeswehr camp in Mazar-i-Sharif in the north of the country, as her ministry announced in Berlin.
Kramp-Karrenbauer wanted to "get an overview of the current situation of the Bundeswehr contingent and the situation in Afghanistan in direct exchange with the men and women of the Bundeswehr."
On Wednesday, the federal cabinet decided to extend the Bundeswehr's Afghanistan mandate by ten months until the end of January 2022.
The first reading in the Bundestag is expected next week.
Kramp-Karrenbauer said that Afghanistan "urgently needs perspectives and a social balance between hostile groups".
The soldiers could not replace these processes, but made "an important contribution together with allies, especially in the north of the country."
The goal remains an orderly withdrawal
"We are ready to continue supporting the peace process," added the minister.
“The protection of our soldiers has a very high priority with a view to the security situation, and all necessary measures are taken together with our partners.
The goal remains the orderly withdrawal. "
The Defense Ministry announced that Kramp-Karrenbauer will bring the findings from her visit to the parliamentary debate and the ongoing talks within NATO.
There are currently around 1,100 Bundeswehr soldiers on site.
The Bundeswehr currently has the second largest contingent after the US Army, which has 2,500 soldiers in the country after a significant reduction in troops under former President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration had promised the radical Islamic Taliban a withdrawal of all international troops by April 30 this year.
The new administration of US President Joe Biden has not yet determined a position on this.
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