Poland to help Canada fight in Afghanistan
OTTAWA (AFP) — Poland will lend Canada two military helicopters for use in Afghanistan, the Polish foreign minister said here Monday, answering his ally's call for more NATO troops and equipment to fight insurgents.
"We appreciate the sacrifices that Canada has made, and that's partly why we have increased our contribution to Afghanistan by 400 soldiers so that we will have 1,600 soldiers by the middle of this year (and) eight helicopters, two of which will be available for Canada's needs," Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told public broadcaster CBC during an official visit to Ottawa.
"We are also increasing our presence, concentrating our contingent and moving towards where the Canadians are," he said. "Actually, our special forces (are) already in Kandahar with the Canadians."
A report by former deputy prime minister John Manley last month urged Ottawa to secure pledges from its allies for at least 1,000 more troops and equipment, including helicopters and drones, before considering extending its combat mission in Afghanistan beyond its current mandate of February 2009.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper heeded its findings, saying he would bring Canada's troops home next year unless its NATO allies stepped up their support for the mission.
Canada deployed 2,500 troops in Afghanistan's volatile southern Kandahar province as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), routing out Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.
Since 2002, 78 Canadian soldiers and a senior diplomat have died in roadside bombings and in melees with insurgents.
Defense Minister Peter MacKay said Monday: "It's obviously very positive to have NATO allies, strong allies like Poland that have military capacity and capability sending those kind of positive signals."
"Hopefully there will be more to come," he said. "We'll have direct discussions with Poland and other countries about these very subjects."
Earlier, Sikorski met with Canada's Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier.
