Paris: French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France will send no more combat troops to Afghanistan, in an interview on Monday three days before an international conference on stabilising the country.
“I said a year and a half ago… that there would no more combat troops (sent by France to Afghanistan), and I am trying to scrupulously keep my commitments and my word,” he said in a rare televised interview.
France may still send extra non-combat military personnel to train the Afghan security forces, Sarkozy added.
“If there is a need for more people to train, supervise the police, carry out civil engineering and help the population… why not?” he said.
France has 3,300 soldiers helping fight the Islamist Taliban movement on the ground in Afghanistan. They are among 113,000 foreign troops under US and NATO command there, to which about 40,000 are due to be added this year.
Sarkozy also cited concerns for the threat posed by the unrest in Afghanistan to stability in its nuclear-armed neighbour Pakistan.
“France will stay in Afghanistan because it is question of our own security,” Sarkozy said. “If the Taliban win in Afghanistan, then Pakistan will fall.”
Britain is to host the meeting on Thursday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and foreign ministers.
It is expected to focus on how NATO-led troops can hand over to Afghan forces and efforts to persuade Taliban militants to stop fighting.
