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German Defence Minister calls on Kabul to act on security, drugs
Nov 10, 2009, 16:20 GMT
Berlin - German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg on Tuesday called on the Afghan government to meet its obligations and follow words with deeds.
During an address to the German parliament, Guttenberg also called on Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai to explain how he intended to fight drug trafficking in the country.
'We want the Afghans to be able to look after their own security in the not-too-distant future,' the newly appointed defence minister said, adding that the aim was a step-by-step reduction of the international troops present in the country.
Guttenberg added that it was crucial for Germany to continue its work, training Afghan policemen and soldiers. Around 4,200 German soldiers are in Afghanistan.
The defence minister repeated his description of Germany's mission in Afghanistan as being 'war-like,' over-stepping the definition used by his predecessor, Franz-Josef Jung who avoided using the word.
'Danger, injury and death are all around,' Guttenberg said, adding that he understood why the soldiers in the region might be speaking of war.
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