Obama says does not see NATO operating in Pakistan

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Fri Apr 3, 2009 1:00pm EDT

* Obama does not envisage NATO troops in Pakistan

* Obama seeks more help from allies over safe havens

(Adds quotes)

BADEN-BADEN, Germany, April 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he did not expect NATO troops to have to enter Pakistan, but said allies should do more to help Islamabad root out safe havens for Islamist militants.

Obama last month unveiled a new strategy for the conflict in Afghanistan, with a new emphasis on neighbouring Pakistan which has been targeted by militants.

But Obama told a news conference following talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before a NATO summit: "My focus on Pakistan does not envision NATO troop activities in Pakistan."

"It does mean that the U.S. and NATO partners have to work more effectively with Pakistan to enable them to root out the safe havens for extremists that pose not just a danger to us but now pose an extraordinary danger to Pakistan."

A patchwork of militant factions is based in northwest Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun border lands.

Obama said more international efforts should be made to help Pakistan with training for a "different type of conflict" to the kind it has traditionally faced.

"Those are all areas where I think NATO can work together very effectively and we can't ultimately, I believe, be effective in Afghanistan if we have not addressed the problems across the border," Obama said. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Timothy Heritage)



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