UN mandate not essential for post-2014 Afghan mission

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday the military alliance need not get UN Security Council authorization for its new training mission in Afghanistan after 2014. \"We would be able to operate in Afghanistan after 2014 on the basis of the invitation from the Afghan government. That will be fully in accordance with intentional law,\" he told reporters at his monthly press conference. \"If we, on top of that, could have a United Nations mandate, I think it would be a good thing.\" The military alliance are working on the plans for the post-2014 training and advisory mission that will start after the end of NATO combat operations in Afghanistan. The NATO chief said that the alliance is in the very early phase of planning and the final plan is to be finished by mid-2013. Last month, Nikolay Korchunov, Russia\'s acting ambassador to NATO, warned that Russia would stop cooperating with NATO over Afghanistan after 2014 unless the alliance gets UN mandate for the new training mission. The current mission of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan is endorsed by the UN Security Council.