Petraeus in Paris to talk Afghan strategy

After holding closed-door talks with members of France’s National Assembly and French Defence Minister Alain Juppé Monday, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, David Petraeus, will on Tuesday give a speech on Afghanistan at the prestigious Institute of Political Science (Sciences Po) in Paris.

The title of the address is “The International Mission in Afghanistan: A Campaign Update and Look Ahead”. FRANCE 24 will be broadcasting the speech live at 10:45 (GMT+2) and journalist Leela Jacinto will be reporting for France24.com via Twitter.

Live reporting from conference

While in Paris on Monday, Petraeus reported that the transfer of security responsibilities to Afghans has begun in the country, a source in the French parliament told AFP.

During discussions with the National Assembly’s Commission for Foreign Affairs Petraeus emphasised that “the training of the Afghan army is going forward at a very accelerated rhythm” according to Axel Poniatowski, president of the commission (and a member of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s centre-right UMP party). He said the target date for a complete transfer of responsibility from the 150,000 NATO troops to the Afghan army was 2014.

Poniatowski added that Petraeus had specified that there were 260,000 Afghan soldiers receiving on-the-ground training.

Petraeus was also said to have highlighted the “good cooperation with Pakistani forces”, explaining that the problem of Taliban bases in Pakistan was being addressed satisfactorily by the troops.

During the talks Monday Petraeus argued that the objective was to “make sure that Afghanistan can no longer become a haven for terrorists,” Poniatowski added.

France did not participate in the US-led war in Iraq, resulting in a period of strained ties between the allies. But there are currently about 3,750 French troops in Afghanistan, making France the fourth largest contributor to the international military effort in the country.