NATO chief urges more support for Afghanistan

BRUSSELS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday urged all troop contributing nations in Afghanistan to provide more support at the upcoming international conference on Afghanistan in London.

In an online question-and-answer session, he answered that relying on the latest assessment of U.S. and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal, the troop surge of United States and its allies had turned the tide against the Taliban.

"The collective impression that they give him is that things are starting -- but only starting to turn if we remain committed and improve our capability to build on this momentum," he said.

He said he asked all members of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to look at what more can be done and what other resources might be provided, including troops, trainers, money or civilian experts.

The conference will take place in London on Jan. 28, foreign ministers from ISAF partners, Afghanistan's immediate neighbors and key regional players and representatives from NATO, the United Nations, the EU and other international organizations are expected to attend. Fogh Rasmussen said the conference would mainly focus on two issues -- transferring security to Afghanistan and providing civilian assistance.

On Dec. 1, U.S. President Barack Obama announced his new strategy in Afghanistan by sending 30,000 more soldiers. Its allies followed suit and pledged about 6,800 more troops for Afghanistan. However, some countries, including France and Germany, are hesitate about sending more troops and said they would make their plans after the London conference.