France insisted Sunday it reserved the right to decide on a possible early pullout of forces from Afghanistan despite Washington saying Paris had vowed to ensure the mission's "strength and effectiveness." The apparent differences between the two NATO allies emerged after a renegade Afghan soldier on Friday shot dead four unarmed French troops and wounded 15 others at a base in the east of the country.
The killings prompted Sarkozy to suspend French military training and joint combat operations with Afghan troops and say that France was considering speeding up its withdrawal from Afghanistan. Sarkozy dispatched his Defence Minister Gerard Longuet and his army chief of staff to Afghanistan to probe the circumstances of the shooting, saying he would make a decision on a pullout based on their report.
But the US State Department said on Saturday that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe had agreed by telephone to ensure the "continued strength and effectiveness" of the mission. The French foreign ministry fired back on Sunday with a statement saying Juppe had "informed Mrs Clinton of the president's decisions," including on requesting a report from Longuet and the top brass.
"In light of their report, the president will draw his conclusions over the attack on our forces by a member of the Afghan army," the statement said. Sarkozy will also discuss the shooting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai when he visits Paris on January 27, it added.
Friday's attack was the second time in a month that French troops were shot dead by an Afghan army soldier, bringing the country's overall death toll to 82 since troops deployed in 2001.