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Dutch cabinet locked in talks over NATO Afghan request

20 February 2010 03:52 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The Dutch cabinet remained locked in talks in the early hours of Saturday amid speculation of a ruling coalition split over a NATO request to extend the Netherlands’ military mission in Afghanistan, APA reports quoting AFP.
"The meeting is still underway," a government spokeswoman told AFP at 01:30 am (0030 GMT), 14 hours after it started at the seat of government, The Hague.
"There is no indication of how much longer it will last."
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told parliament on Thursday that the meeting would discuss a Labour Party (PvdA) demand for a rejection of NATO’s request that saw the three-party centre-left coalition publicly locking horns.
In the latest in a string of political rows, vice-premier Wouter Bos invoked the ire of his cabinet colleagues by stating this week that his PvdA would not support extending the Dutch deployment in Afghanistan beyond 2010.
Balkenende, who leads the senior Christian Democratic coalition partner, responded that the matter was still under discussion, while the junior Christian Union (CU) chided Bos for speaking out of turn.
Bos is accused of using the issue for political gain as polls show his party lagging in the run-up to March 3 municipal elections. The deployment of Dutch troops in Afghanistan was an unpopular move with voters from the outset.
Earlier this month, NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen asked the Netherlands to take on a new training role and remain in Afghanistan until August 2011, but passing the request needs unanimous approval from the cabinet.
Balkenende and his CDA foreign minister Maxime Verhagen have also been urged by the United States not to withdraw Dutch troops.
Dutch media and analysts said Friday the spat could lead to a collapse of the government -- the fourth led by Balkenende in eight years.
In that case, new elections would have to be held and a new coalition government created. All of Balkenende’s previous governments have collapsed before their mandates expired.
Around 1,950 Dutch troops are deployed in Afghanistan under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
The Dutch mission, which started in 2006, has already been extended by two years. It has cost the lives of 21 of its soldiers.