Deployment Conditions

"There is no pressure on Germany to go into the south," de Hoop Scheffer said after meeting Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday, Sept. 13.

He repeated, however, that the alliance would prefer its member countries to put as few restrictions on the use of their troops as possible. Other NATO members, including the United States and Canada, have requested nations drop restrictions on where troops are deployed.

"It is unfair to criticize Germany... I am realistic, I understand the domestic political situation in Germany," de Hoop Scheffer said. "And it is not only in southern Afghanistan where there is danger. Germany has also had casualties in the north."

Two German police officers and a foreign ministry employee were killed by a bomb in Kabul in August, bringing the German death toll in Afghanistan to 25 soldiers and three police officers. A German engineer has also been held hostage in Afghanistan for nearly two months.

Steinmeier: Officer training key

Germany has nearly 3,000 troops stationed in the relatively peaceful north of Afghanistan on a training and reconstruction mission as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

"We will maintain the predominance of our military presence in the north, and regarding the specific tasks, we will focus on training the Afghan army," Steinmeier told reporters after meeting de Hoop Scheffer.

The German army's Afghanistan mandates prevent it from being used in the south, where military casualties are higher. There has been pressure on Germany to lift this restriction, particularly to allow military instructors to accompany the Afghan troops they have trained.

Germany has also sent six reconnaissance Tornado jets to Afghanistan to assist ISAF operations throughout the country. The German parliament will debate renewing the mandates this autumn.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pledged her country's support for peacekeeping in Afghanistan despite increasing opposition from German voters to the mission.

An opinion poll published by Stern magazine on Wednesday showed 52 percent of respondents in favor of withdrawing all German forces. Just 43 percent were in favor of them staying, compared with 60 percent two years ago.

NATO still necessary in Kosovo

De Hoop Scheffer and Steinmeier also agreed the NATO-led KFOR force remained necessary for securing peace in Kosovo.

The NATO head said the force provided a secure environment for the Albanian majority in the Serbian province and for the Serbian minority.

Following failure to agree on Kosovo's final status at the United Nations as a result of the threat of a Russian veto in the Security Council, Steinmeier said there was no alternative to the three-party talks on the future of the province, involving the United States, the European Union and Russia.

A UN mediation group has been given until Dec. 10 to draw up a proposal for the future status of the Serbian province, which has been under UN administration since 1999.

"Nobody is able to say whether this will be successful," Steinmeier said. "We believe there is a realistic chance."