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| France to boost its Afghan forces | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he will send more troops to Afghanistan to support Nato's mission. | French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he will send more troops to Afghanistan to support Nato's mission. |
| Mr Sarkozy, who is on a state visit to Britain, said he would make the offer at next week's Nato summit in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. | |
| Nato leaders have frequently called on member countries to contribute more soldiers to the mission in Afghanistan. | |
| The Nato-led International Security and Assistance Force (Isaf) currently has over 43,000 personnel in Afghanistan. | |
| In a speech to the British parliament in London, Mr Sarkozy said defeat to Taleban insurgents was not an option. | |
| "In Afghanistan something essential is being played out," he said. | |
| "France has proposed a strategy to its allies in the Atlantic alliance to enable the Afghan people and their legitimate government to build peace. | |
| "If these proposals are accepted, during the summit in Bucharest, France will propose reinforcing its military presence." | |
| Mr Sarkozy did not say how many more troops he was proposing to send. | |
| According to Nato figures, France currently has 1,515 soldiers in Afghanistan, mostly in Kabul. | |
| Canada recently threatened to pull out its 2,500 troops from Afghanistan if other allies did not contribute more troops and equipment. |