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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US warning on Nato's Afghan role | US warning on Nato's Afghan role |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The European public needs convincing that Nato's mission in Afghanistan is part of a wider fight against global terror, the US defence secretary says. | The European public needs convincing that Nato's mission in Afghanistan is part of a wider fight against global terror, the US defence secretary says. |
| Robert Gates warned that the future of Nato was at risk if it became a "two-tiered alliance" of countries which fought, and those that did not. | Robert Gates warned that the future of Nato was at risk if it became a "two-tiered alliance" of countries which fought, and those that did not. |
| Mr Gates was speaking on the last day of a security conference in Munich. | Mr Gates was speaking on the last day of a security conference in Munich. |
| The summit is also set to consider a threatened diplomatic crisis with Russia over Kosovan independence plans. | The summit is also set to consider a threatened diplomatic crisis with Russia over Kosovan independence plans. |
| 'Threat to alliance' | 'Threat to alliance' |
| Mr Gates said it was incumbent upon Nato leaders to "recapitulate to the people of Europe the importance of the Afghanistan mission and its relationship to the wider terrorist threat". | Mr Gates said it was incumbent upon Nato leaders to "recapitulate to the people of Europe the importance of the Afghanistan mission and its relationship to the wider terrorist threat". |
| "On a conceptual level, I believe it falls squarely within the traditional bounds of the alliance's core purpose: to defend the security interests and values of the trans-Atlantic community," he told the gathering of the world's top defence officials. | "On a conceptual level, I believe it falls squarely within the traditional bounds of the alliance's core purpose: to defend the security interests and values of the trans-Atlantic community," he told the gathering of the world's top defence officials. |
| "We must not - we cannot - become a two-tiered alliance of those who are willing to fight and those who are not," he added. | "We must not - we cannot - become a two-tiered alliance of those who are willing to fight and those who are not," he added. |
| "Such a development, with all its implications for collective security, would effectively destroy the alliance." | "Such a development, with all its implications for collective security, would effectively destroy the alliance." |
| The former leader of the UK Liberal Democrat Party Paddy Ashdown - who Kabul rejected as a UN envoy to Afghanistan - said in a BBC interview on Sunday that the situation in Afghanistan was dire. | The former leader of the UK Liberal Democrat Party Paddy Ashdown - who Kabul rejected as a UN envoy to Afghanistan - said in a BBC interview on Sunday that the situation in Afghanistan was dire. |
| "I think Afghanistan is a failed state, I don't think it's a question of it being on the edge of it," Lord Ashdown said. | |
| "Now there is still a majority in Afghanistan who want the international troops to stay there. | "Now there is still a majority in Afghanistan who want the international troops to stay there. |
| "That majority is sliding and once that graph begins to dip it is very, very difficult to turn it around." | "That majority is sliding and once that graph begins to dip it is very, very difficult to turn it around." |
| But a senior British diplomat defended Nato's operation in Afghanistan, saying the overall strategy was working despite some problems on the ground. | But a senior British diplomat defended Nato's operation in Afghanistan, saying the overall strategy was working despite some problems on the ground. |
| Stewart Eldon, the UK's permanent representative to Nato, told the BBC it was a "mistake" to say Afghanistan would make or break Nato. | Stewart Eldon, the UK's permanent representative to Nato, told the BBC it was a "mistake" to say Afghanistan would make or break Nato. |
| 'State of emergency' | 'State of emergency' |
| The BBC's Jonathan Marcus, at the conference, says the issue of Kosovo was also likely to make waves on the final day of the talks. | The BBC's Jonathan Marcus, at the conference, says the issue of Kosovo was also likely to make waves on the final day of the talks. |
| Russia's first deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov was addressing delegates on Sunday. | Russia's first deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov was addressing delegates on Sunday. |
| Ahead of his speech, a Russian spokesman told the BBC that a declaration of independence by Kosovo and its subsequent recognition by the United States and many European Union countries would create an international state of emergency. | Ahead of his speech, a Russian spokesman told the BBC that a declaration of independence by Kosovo and its subsequent recognition by the United States and many European Union countries would create an international state of emergency. |
| That, the spokesman said, could jeopardise the whole standing of the United Nations. | That, the spokesman said, could jeopardise the whole standing of the United Nations. |