NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with The Associated Press (AP) that he welcomed the announcement by US President Donald Trump that the US is now going to be in Afghanistan on a condition-based mission and said NATO will also increase troop numbers to train Afghan forces.

He did not however reveal details as to the number of troops to be deployed. 

This comes after the US announced earlier this week that it would be sending in more than 3,000 extra troops. They would not give exact numbers however. 

According to AP, Stoltenberg said on Tuesday: "I welcome the announcement by President Trump that the US is now going to be in Afghanistan on a condition-based mission, not based on specific time tables and I also welcome the fact that the US has announced that they will increase their troop numbers. 

“NATO has decided to increase the troop numbers in Afghanistan and several European allies and partner nations have already announced that they will also provide more forces to train and assist in the mission in Afghanistan," he said. 

"This is about making sure that Afghanistan doesn't once again become a safe haven for international terrorists and the best way of doing that is to enable the Afghans to have defense security forces which are strong enough to do that. 

“I don't think this is an easy task, but I strongly believe that the best way forward is to train them instead of NATO sending big numbers of combat troops fighting in Afghanistan," Stoltenberg stated. 

Stoltenberg is currently attending the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York. 

Addressing the UN’s general debate on Tuesday, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon meanwhile called on the organization to carry out its mission, coordinating the efforts of member states to build resilience to the many challenges and threats people and countries face.

On the issue of Afghanistan, he said the growing activity of violent terrorist groups was a matter of serious concern. 

“It is high time to take strong, coordinated measures to tackle terrorism and drug trafficking,” he said, calling on the international community to help, just as his country was ready to do so.

“Our neighbor cannot ignore the overall political, military and social conditions in Afghanistan and we are very concerned about it. Today it is very clear that sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan are key factors to ensuring peace and security in central Asia and south Asia,” said Rahmon.