Sydney: Australia has warned it can`t "take up the lead" in Afghanistan`s Uruzgan province if Dutch soldiers withdraw, after a row over the mission brought down
the Netherlands` government.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia had already raised its concerns with both NATO and the United States following the Dutch government`s collapse over the weekend.
"We are great respecters of the contribution that they have made, but in the absence of the Dutch, Australia has made it clear to NATO and to the International Security Assistance
Force that Australia is not in a position to take up the lead in Uruzgan province," Smith told reporters yesterday.
"We`ve made this clear to NATO, as we have to the United States. So it`s a matter for NATO to resolve issues of leadership in Uruzgan province and we`re confident that that
particular issue is in hand."
Australia`s 1,550 troops in Afghanistan are based in the southern province, which is a known centre for the Taliban insurgency and opium production, and borders Helmand, site of an ongoing major anti-Taliban offensive.
The Netherlands may begin to withdraw its 1,950-strong force from Uruzgan as early as August after the coalition government failed to agree on a NATO request to extend the
mission by a year, sparking fears other countries will waver.
PTI
