MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) — The United Kingdom will continue providing support to Afghanistan through NATO's Resolute Support mission, a statement published on the UK Defense Ministry's website Saturday said.
"As the ISAF [the International Security Assistance Force] mission comes to a close, UK forces will now focus on the NATO Resolute Support mission. Resolute Support will continue to develop the Afghan Ministry of Defence and training the future leaders of the Afghan National Army (ANA) at the Officer Academy," the statement said.
Resolute Support is a recent NATO mission to help Afghanistan build ministries and institutions, as well as augmenting the command level of the Afghan security forces.
"As the ANA [the Afghan National Army] continue to show its combat abilities in fighting the insurgents, a few hundred UK specialists and mentors will remain in Afghanistan, in the Kabul region, to help establish process and systems that will allow the Afghan government to effectively deliver national security in a self-sustainable manner," the statement added.
Meanwhile, a recent poll, conducted by the polling company YouGov, showed that the majority of the British population downplays the importance of Britain's involvement in the ISAF.
The ISAF is a NATO-headed security mission that was anchored in Afghanistan, following the terrorist attacks of September 11 in the United States. It has been aiming to cut the levels of insurgency in Afghanistan and to introduce changes into the country's governance and socio-economic field. The ISAF will complete its mission by the end of 2014.
