Defense Minister: Romania will not send more troops to Afghanistan

Romania will not send more troops to Afghanistan in 2016, the Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc said on Friday last week. The country’s commitment will “most probably” remain at a level comparable to that of 2015, reports local Mediafax. A day earlier, the country’s Supreme Council of National Defense had approved a 15% increase in the number of troops that will take part in NATO missions in Afghanistan and the Balkans in 2016. Some 1,181 Romanian soldiers will be part in these missions, up by 158 compared to this year. Asked about the Supreme Council’s increase in the number of troops, the Defense Minister said the number of soldiers would not grow, but stay the same. The variations were strictly related to logistics, he explained. Romania currently has 640 troops in Afghanistan. editor@romania-insider.com