Canada refuses to extend Afghan mission

The new secretary-general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said earlier Thursday that he would like Canada to stay beyond the planned 2011 withdrawal date, according to Canadian media reports.

"Of course I'm not going to interfere with domestic politics in individual allied nations, but seen from an alliance point of view, I would strongly regret if that became the final outcome of the Canadian considerations," Rasmussen was quoted as saying in Afghanistan.

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon quickly responded by saying that Ottawa would stick to its plan.

"On the other comments, however, our government is abiding by the motion passed in Parliament in 2008 -- that is that our combat forces will leave by 2011. We are staying the course," he said; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.