(Combines French, US announcements, adds background) By Andrew Gray BUCHAREST, April 3 (Reuters) - France announced at a NATO summit on Thursday it would send 700 troops to eastern Afghanistan as part of efforts to bolster the Western military alliance's force fighting Taliban insurgents. U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed the move and said it would allow some U.S. troops to move from the east to the south of Afghanistan, scene of the worst violence, where Canada has demanded reinforcements to remain in the mission. "France has decided to send an extra battalion to the east," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest. The French commitment to the 47,000-strong force coincides with increasing Western concern about violence in Afghanistan, with suicide attacks and car bombings on the rise. The United States has been concerned about the commitment of some European countries, who in turn have been annoyed by public U.S. exhortations to send more troops into a war they believe Washington neglected because of its focus on Iraq. The alliance intends to rally round a new joint statement on the Afghan mission issued by the summit. A senior French official said the battalion of 700 soldiers would take France's contingent in Afghanistan to 2,300. The French commitment was another sign of the warm relations Sarkozy has cultivated with the United States since he took office in May last year. Bush thanked Sarkozy for the French commitment and "indicated that would allow the United States to send additional forces to the south...in addition to the Marines that are already being sent there," a U.S. official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the number of U.S. troops that would move south was not discussed, nor was any timeline. The United States has some 31,000 troops in Afghanistan, with 19,000 serving in the NATO-led force. Some 3,500 U.S. Marines recently deployed to Afghanistan but Washington has stressed they are there for only a 7-month deployment and other allies will have to replace them. The French commitment, coupled with a planned boost in Polish troops and helicopters, appears to clear the way for Canada to declare its conditions for remaining in Afghanistan have been met. "We believe we're moving in that direction," said Canadian spokeswoman Carolyn Stewart-Olsen. She did not confirm that the conditions had been fully met, however. (Additional reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Afghan women arrive to attend a free medical assistance camp set up by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in the outskirts of Kabul April 3, 2008. President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed ...
Afghanistan
