(Reuters) - NATO forces should be able to hand over responsibility to Afghanistan's security forces gradually in 2008, the alliance's secretary-general said on Tuesday.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer gave a glimpse of NATO's exit strategy from its most dangerous combat mission in a speech to a security conference hours before the start of a summit of alliance leaders in Latvia, reports Trend.
"I would hope that by 2008, we will have made considerable progress ... and effective and trusted Afghan security forces gradually taking control," he told the Riga Conference, appealing to allies to provide more troops with fewer national restrictions on their use in the meantime.
But De Hoop Scheffer said that at present any talk of withdrawals in Afghanistan was premature.
He noted the 32,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force could only consider pulling out troops when Afghan security forces were able to take over.
De Hoop Scheffer said it was unacceptable that the ISAF force remained 20 percent under full strength because of a failure by allies to contribute troops and equipment requested by commanders.