Roundup: French troops to stay in Afghanistan, Chirac tells Karzai

Paris (dpa) - France will remain committed to helping bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, French President Jacques Chirac told his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Wednesday, according to a joint statement issued after the two men met in Paris.

France currently has 600 soldiers in the NATO-led international peace-keeping force in Afghanistan.

Following the talks with Chirac, Karzai told journalists that their discussion, which concerned bilateral relations and security in the region, was "very fruitful''.

Karzai arrived late Sunday in the French capital for a three-day visit during which he will also hold talks with Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Foreign Affairs Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.

In an interview published Monday in the French daily Le Figaro, Karzai said he would like to see the NATO peace-keeping forces and American anti-terror troops in his country united under one banner, that of NATO.

"We will have, sooner or later, one command for the two operations, and it will be placed under the banner of NATO. That suits me perfectly,'' Karzai said. dpa sm sc