Thread by @jseldin

HAPPENING NOW: News conference with @NATO SecGen @jensstoltenberg, @DeptofDefense @SecDef Lloyd Austin & @StateDept @SecBlinken

"We will start the withdrawal ... by May 1" @NATO's @jensstoltenberg says of the abt 10,000 mostly non-US troops currently in #Afghanistan

Says withdrawal will be completed "within a few months"

"This is not an easy decision & it entails risks" per @jensstoltenberg, saying the departure of troops is not the end of @NATO's relationship w/#Afghanistan

"We will leave #Afghanistan together & bring our troops home" per @SecBlinken

"After years of saying we will leave at some point, that time has come" he says, adding indefinite troop presence not in US interests

"Even with our troops home, we as an alliance...will continue to invest in the Afghan people" per @SecBlinken

.@SecBlinken says US will hold #Taliban responsible for keeping terror groups, like #alQaida, in check

"Our troops have accomplished the mission they were sent to #Afghanistan to accomplish" per @SecDef, citing "greatly diminished" threat from #alQaida, other terror groups

"There is still too much violence to be sure...and we know the #Taliban will seek to reverse some of this progress" per @SecDef, which he says is why the US is supporting ongoing negotiations

.@SecDef says US will continue to support key #Afghan military & counterterrorism efforts

US will also continue to pay some military salaries

"We will respond forcefully should the #Taliban attack any of our forces or any of our allies during this drawdown" per @SecDef

#Afghanistan

"We have a commitment, especially to those who worked with us" @SecBlinken says of granting asylum, taking in Afghans who supported US efforts in #Afghanistan

"This was an inclusive process & their voices were heard" @SecDef says of input from uniformed military on decision to leave #Afghanistan

Austin says he is confident in US military leadership to "lead" the withdrawal

"All allies agreed" per @jensstoltenberg on #Afghanistan withdrawal

"This is not the end. This is the beginning of a new way of working w/#Afghanistan"

#Iran decision to enrich uranium to 60% -"The step calls into question Iran's seriousness" in nuclear talks & returning to compliance w/the #JCPOA, per @SecBlinken

"We'll find out"

#Russia military build-up along #Ukraine's borders - "We remain concerned about what we're seeing" per @SecDef

Q'd about US intelligence assessment on #Afghanistan - that Afghan gvt would lose ground to #Taliban if US, coalition leave, @SecBlinken says it is "a very realistic assessment...but it is important to remember how we got here"

"We inherited, at best, a stalemate" between #Taliban & #Afghanistan forces" per @SecBlinken and the existing deal to leave by May 1

"We are very focused on advancing what prospects there are" for a diplomatic solution, per @SecBlinken

Adds if #Taliban want int'l recognition, support - "those things will be significantly affected by the path the Taliban chooses to take"

"There are a whole series of incentives and disincentives that will continue to shape what will happen" adds @SecBlinken, saying Afghan ppl "are the ones who have to decide" their future

.@NATO's @jensstoltenberg said if US, coalition were to stay, they would have to increase the military presence to face increased #Taliban aggression

US CT forces - "I won't get into specific details as to where our counterterrorism assets may be positioned" per @SecDef, saying talks are underway w/allies, partners

Downplays danger of not being able to acquire targets in areas US doesn't have troops - says do it all the time

"We're providing material support to #Ukraine...we would look to continue to do the same types of things going forward" per @SecDef re: #Russia

Austin indicates that would include supplies, training and defensive capabilities

"We've also seen continued attacks by #Russian forces at the line of contact" per @SecBlinken "#Ukraine has demonstrated real restraint in the face of Russian provocations"