NATO has reached agreement with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan on reverse transit from Afghanistan.
The deals allow NATO to use the territory of these Central Asian countries for evacuating vehicles and military equipment from Afghanistan without depending on Pakistan, which has blocked the alliance from using its territory since last November.
Announcing this at a monthly press briefing on Monday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said "These agreements will give us a range of new options and the robust and flexible transport network we need." He thanked all three partner countries for their support, and pledged that NATO will continue to actively engage with Afghanistan's neighbors to build wider support for the country's stability.
A cross-border attack by Afghanistan-based NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on November 26 last killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan responded by closing the main overland supply routes for U.S. and NATO forces into Afghanistan, and suspended cooperation with the U.S. Military.
U.S. logistics specialists quickly shifted to other means to supply the forces, but the routes through Pakistan are considered the most direct and cost-effective.
The two nations are negotiating to reopen those cargo routes, which the Pentagon considers important, both for the flow of supplies into Afghanistan, and the movement of equipment out as foreign forces draw down from Afghanistan. Afghan forces are slated to take over security responsibility in 2014, and ISAF will begin pull out in earnest later this year.
Rasmussen said that Afghan army and police are taking the lead for the security of 75 percent of the population. In the coming weeks, more than 100 districts and cities in Afghanistan will begin the transition to Afghan security responsibility.
Already, more than one third of a million Afghan soldiers and police are trained and ready to keep their country secure. 18 Afghan army battalions, and 65 police units, have been certified as capable of operating independently, with advisers from ISAF.
At the same time, more and more former insurgents are choosing to come back into society, the NATO chief claimed. Right now, around 4,400 former fighters have entered re-integration programs, which is an increase of 40% since December, Rasmussen estimated.
He said that the alliance is making progress on implementing Chicago summit decisions on two key areas.
In Chicago, a contract was signed to acquire an Alliance Ground Surveillance capability - unarmed drones which will allow its commanders to see what is happening over the horizon at any time, and in any weather.
The NATO chief announced that Denmark has decided to join the acquisition phase of the project.
He said that an Interim European Missile Defense Capability has now been formally handed over to the NATO Headquarters in Ramstein, in Germany. He termed it as "a first, but significant step towards our longer-term goal of providing full coverage and protection for all NATO European populations, territory and forces."
He expressed concern over some recent Russian statements, including on military deployments close to NATO borders. Rasmussen told reporters that NATO intends to raise this with Russia, as "We have pledged to discuss the areas where we disagree, as well as the areas where we agree."
Later on Monday, the NATO Secretary General and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key signed the Individual Partnership Cooperation Program which formalizes the ties between the Pacific country and the alliance, after almost two decades of gradual engagement.
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December 12, 2025 15:14 ET Central bank decisions dominated the economic news flow this week led by the Federal Reserve. Trade data from the U.S. also gained attention. The Canadian and Swiss central banks also announced their interest rate decisions. Inflation data from China was in focus as the country released the latest consumer price and producer price data.