Merkel urges Hollande not to rush to leave Afghanistan
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urges NATO members and allies not to rush to leave Afghanistan, signaling tension within the alliance over France’s vow to leave by year’s end, Business Week report said.
The report said allies in Afghanistan that entered the conflict should withdraw together and Germany will “resolutely defend” that stance, Merkel told reporters today at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Chicago.
France’s new president, Francois Hollande, said on May 18 that he will keep to his campaign pledge to withdraw French combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, sooner than the U.S. and other allies plan.