Nato allies are considering a new proposal to sustain the number of Afghan troops at its peak of 352,000 soldiers through 2018, senior Nato officials said Thursday in the allies' Defense Ministers Conference in Brussels.
Last year, Nato defense ministers had endorsed a plan that would have reduced the number of Afghan security forces to 240,000 after 2014 in the wake of diminishing resources.
The current 352,000 mark will cost $6.5 billion a year, of which the Afghan government would pay $500 million, Nato allies $300 million, and the US paying the remaining amount of $5.7 billion.
This comes as Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen praised the growth of the Afghan security forces in the past 12 years and emphasized on the continued support, advisory and training role of the Nato allies after 2014 when their combat mission ends.
"That will be an important milestone. It will mark the progress we have made with Afghan forces in command of combat operations across the nation. And we will make sure that Afghan forces have the support they need as they assume full responsibility for their own security by the end of 2014," the Secretary-General said of 2014, when Isaf will assume an advisory and training role.
The defense ministers meeting involved all 50 members of the Isaf coalition, the defense minister of Afghanistan and representatives from the United Nations and the European Union.