France welcomes Obama speech, delays own decision

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday he welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, but did not immediately commit France to following suit.

However, just days after France said it would not dispatch more forces to the region, Sarkozy left the door open for eventual reinforcements in the new year.

"(Obama's) speech was courageous, determined and lucid, giving new impetus to the international commitment and opening new prospects," Sarkozy's office said in a statement.

"The (French) president offers his full support and calls on all countries which want to help the Afghan people to back it," the statement added.

Obama said on Tuesday he was ordering 30,000 additional U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan but promised to start bringing forces home in the middle of 2011. He also called for support from U.S. allies.

France has a 3,400-strong force in Afghanistan and Sarkozy said on Wednesday he would review the situation following a meeting of NATO countries later this week and after an international conference in London next month, which is being organized by the United Nations.

"It is in this renewed context that France will look at its contribution to international strategy, giving priority to the training of Afghan security forces," the French statement said,

"France will not leave the field clear to terrorists and the barbarous violence of fanatics," it added, saying that for this reason, Paris would remain "firmly committed" to the Afghan operation for as long as necessary.

Sarkozy added that France intended to give additional help to Pakistan in its fight against militants, but gave no further details.

French Defense Minister Herve Morin said on Monday France had no plans to raise troop levels in Afghanistan and believed that countries should put more emphasis on aid as a way of helping the nation.

Obama telephoned Sarkozy on Monday as he briefed world leaders ahead of his speech on Tuesday.

Sarkozy said on Monday that France would keep its troops in Afghanistan for as long as necessary but did not mention the possibility of sending more. "We are not going to stay in Afghanistan indefinitely," he said.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; editing by Myra MacDonald)