Merkel says no decision yet on Afghanistan troops

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that Germany would not make a decision about boosting its troop levels in Afghanistan until after an international conference in late January.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that Germany would not make a decision about boosting its troop levels in Afghanistan until after an international conference in late January.

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"We are expecting requests from the United States but we will not take a decision in the coming days, we will do so after the conference on Afghanistan... on January 28 in London," Merkel said.

She was speaking after talks in Berlin with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, and ahead of a hotly awaited speech by US President Barack Obama on his country's military strategy in the strife-wracked country.

Germany currently has around 4,300 troops in northern Afghanistan, the third largest contributor to a 100,000-strong international force after the United States and Britain eight years after the ouster of the Taliban.

In a televised address at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Wednesday), Obama was expected to announce deployments of up to 35,000 more troops to battle the resurgent Taliban and Al-Qaeda, as well as to secure Afghan cities, along with more civilian aid.

Merkel is counting on the United Nations-sponsored conference to produce a road map for Afghans themselves assuming more responsibilities so that foreign troops can go home.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said the conference could set a timeframe for a gradual security handover from 2010.

"After this conference on Afghanistan, Germany will decide whether or not it will make fresh efforts, and if so, what
efforts," Merkel said, adding that security in Afghanistan would not be solved by military means alone.