برنامه ها - تودی خبری

The US Defence Minister Leon Panetta on Wednesday said that the United State hoped to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by the middle of next year.

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The timetable described by US Defence Minister appeared to be the first time the United States has said it would shift into a supporting role, training and advising Afghan troops, by next year.

His remarks came as France also recently said that it will end combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2013.

Current Nato strategy, agreed to at a summit in Lisbon, Portugal, in November 2010, calls for coalition forces to gradually shift to a training, advisory and assistance role with the Afghan military on the way to withdrawing all combat troops by the end of 2014.

"Our goal is to complete all of that transition in 2013," Panetta told reporters on the way to a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels. "Hopefully by mid- to the latter part of 2013, we'll be able to make a transition from a combat role."

Panetta emphasised that an early transition did not mean early withdrawal, "We've got to stick to the Lisbon strategy."