Canada seeks French troops pledge

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A high-level Canadian delegation has been sent to France to sound out a possible offer to support Canadian troops in Afghanistan, officials said.

On Thursday, French defence minister Herve Morin told reporters France would be willing to help, but said no specific commitment had been made.

Canada has threatened to withdraw its 2,500 troops next year unless allies provide reinforcements in Kandahar.

Nato defence ministers are meeting to discuss Afghanistan for a second day.

The talks in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, come amid tensions in the 26-nation military alliance about sharing the burden of the large operation in Afghanistan.

The force has grown from just 5,000 troops in 2003 to the current 43,000, with just over half provided by the US and UK - concentrated in the restive south of the country.

<a name="story"></a> <a class="bodl" href="#map">Map of main troop deployments</a>

Canada - whose forces are also in the south, in Kandahar province - has lost 78 soldiers and a senior diplomat in roadside bombings and clashes with insurgents, brewing popular opposition to the mission at home.

Troop pressures

Canada is now seeking an additional 1,000 soldiers, along with helicopters and other equipment - from its Nato allies by April, and says its demand is "not negotiable".

It simply is not true that some are doing the hard work and the others are quitters Gernot Erler German deputy foreign minister

But key allies including Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey have refused, opening a rift with fellow Nato members with a presence in the south.

The refusal has triggered criticism from Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and US defence secretary Robert Gates, who has warned Nato risks becoming a "two-tiered alliance".

Now, following France's suggestion it might be willing to help, Ottawa has sent a team reportedly headed by the Canadian prime minister's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, to Paris, officials said.

But Canadian media reports that France was considering sending 700 troops to southern Afghanistan were premature, said Mr Morin, according to Associated Press news agency.

Aside from the French move, there have been few signs of progress at the Nato meeting, say correspondents - with no reported offers of troops to replace 3,200 US marines due in April to start a seven-month deployment focused on Kandahar.

Mixed mood

Germany has defended its refusal to send troops south, highlighting the importance of its work in the north and pointing out that limits have been placed on the deployment by parliament.

"It simply is not true that some are doing the hard work and the others are quitters, to put it drastically," said deputy foreign minister Gernot Erler, according to AP.

On Thursday, Mr Gates appeared to soften his stance on demands for troops, suggesting countries which could not send soldiers could instead contribute helicopters, news agency AFP reported.

The BBC's Rob Watson in Vilnius says that while the internal tensions have not gone away - and probably never will - the mood is not uniformly low.

Nato officials, he says, do believe some progress is being made on the ground in Afghanistan - and all alliance members say they are committed there for the long term.

Nato members' commitment to Afghanistan faces a further test in April, when concrete pledges are expected at a summit in Bucharest.