NATO members are ready to send 7,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday.
After a meeting of the foreign ministers of NATO's 28 member states, Rasmussen told reporters: "At least 25 countries will send more forces to the mission in 2010," adding that the countries "offered around 7,000 forces with more to come."
The details of the reinforcement will be discussed on December 7 at a Brussels meeting on NATO's further actions in Afghanistan.
U.S. President Barack Obama said in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday that the U.S. would send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in the first part of 2010 to defeat the Taliban and establish law and order.
Rasmussen earlier said the 42 troop-contributing nations would deploy at least 5,000 soldiers to Afghanistan.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and a separate U.S.-led coalition, involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, have a total of 112,000 troops in Afghanistan. ISAF has 71,000 troops, about a half of which is contributed by the United States.
MOSCOW, December 4 (RIA Novosti)
