Nato to bolster Afghan fight

Updated 21.27 Thu Apr 03 2008

Keywords: Afghanistan, Nato, Gordon Brown

Britain's Nato allies are to send 18 helicopters to Afghanistan to bolster the fight against the Taliban.

And eight members of the alliance who are not providing troops have signed up to a new fund to support coalition efforts.

"I think we will be able to announce by the end of tomorrow that 18 new helicopters have been pledged by the different countries" - Gordon Brown

The agreements, due to be formally announced on Friday, came after Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for other member states to share the burden of the cost of operations in Afghanistan with Britain, the US, Canada and the Netherlands.

Speaking at the Nato summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest, Mr Brown said: "The most immediate need in Afghanistan is helicopters. And I think we will be able to announce by the end of tomorrow that 18 new helicopters have been pledged by the different countries.

"Eight countries have already agreed to be part of the trust fund that we, the UK, have set up after discussions with the French. This is going to be the model for the future."

France confirmed that it will send up to 1,000 extra troops to volatile eastern Afghanistan, freeing up US troops to help Canadian units in the south.

Nato also refused to requests from former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia to join the alliance.

Britain and the US back membership for the Black Sea nations, but France and Germany oppose the move because they say it will antagonise Russia.

But Nato leaders made an "unequivocal statement about the direction" for Ukraine and Georgia by saying for the first time that both eventually join the alliance when the time is right.

Mr Brown said: "We agreed today that these countries will become members of Nato. This is a very significant event."

Croatia and Albania were invited to join but Macedonia's bid was vetoed by Greece after a row over the country's name, which Athens says suggests a territorial claim on its northern region of the same name.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to attend the Nato talks on Friday for the last time before he steps down.

Mr Brown said he will raise the issue of the extradition of Andrey Lugovoy, prime suspect in the murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko, when he meets Mr Putin.