Hungary PM backs U.S. war plan for Afghanistan

Wed Dec 2, 2009 4:53pm EST

(Adds quotes from news conference)

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said on Wednesday he supported President Barack Obama's war strategy for Afghanistan and the United States can continue to count on Hungary as a strong ally.

Bajnai said his country, which already has more than 300 troops in Afghanistan, will consider the U.S. request for more troops, but a decision was not likely immediately.

For now, Hungary was committed to maintaining its existing troop numbers, he said.

"The United States and other members of NATO can count on Hungary as a strong ally and our policies will be in line with that, and our announcement will be made soon, but not now," Bajnai told a news conference following discussion with the International Monetary Fund.

He said the allies could not risk failure and needed a long-lasting solution in Afghanistan.

This week the French Foreign Ministry said two detainees at Guantanamo were sent to France and to Hungary, part of a drive by Obama to close the widely criticized detention camp, created by his predecessor, George W. Bush, for terrorist suspects captured abroad.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, editing by Stacey Joyce)

((Reuters Messaging: lesley.wrougton.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 202 246 6735))

Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.