A road map will be drafted for the
withdrawal of Italian troops from Afghanistan along with those
of its NATO partners starting in May and ending in September,
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Facebook Thursday.
"After 20 years, NATO has decided to leave Afghanistan," he
wrote.
"The ministries of foreign affairs, of defence and the Chiefs of
Staff, meeting at the premier's office, will therefore draft a
road map that will permit the withdrawal of the Italian troops,
to which I renew the most heartily felt recognition for the
support furnished in all these years to the Afghan people.
"A support founded on the respect for rights, above all of
minors and Afghan women.
"Our contribution to the Afghan people has been decisive in
these years", said the foreign minister.
Di Maio said the "Italian way to reconstruction has been
opened".
The foreign minister earlier described the pullout after 20
years as an "epochal decision".
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