Yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen had telephone talks with members of the Afghan government and the Netherlands’ allies in the southern part of Afghanistan. He spoke with colleagues from several countries, including Australia, Germany, Denmark and Slovakia, about the situation arising from the Netherlands’ inability to take a decision about further involvement in Afghanistan after this August.

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‘Our allies are wondering why the Netherlands is the only NATO member to pull out of Afghanistan at such a crucial moment,’ said the minister. ‘I told my foreign colleagues that to my regret our governing coalition has been unable to reach agreement on this issue and that until August the Netherlands will continue to do everything in its power to ensure the success of the NATO mission in Afghanistan.’

Both the Afghan government and the Netherlands’ allies in ISAF stressed their appreciation for the work being done by the diplomats, development staff and service personnel in Uruzgan and thanked Mr Verhagen for his personal efforts.

Over the next few days the minister will remain in close contact with his foreign colleagues about the situation in Afghanistan.