OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper telephoned the president of France today as part of his continuing effort to rally NATO support for Canada's combat effort in southern Afghanistan.
Harper thanked President Nicolas Sarkozy for the assistance France gave Canadians trying to leave Chad following violence there, then briefed him on the recently released Manley report on Afghanistan.
Sarkozy is the third foreign leader Harper has spoken to in the past week about the findings and recommendations of the report from a panel led by former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley.
The panel recommended Canada's 2,500-plus troops continue fighting in and around Kandahar province only if NATO allies cough up 1,000 reinforcements and the Canadian military acquires combat helicopters and new unmanned surveillance aircraft.
Canadian troops are scheduled to be pulled out of Afghanistan next February but Harper has resolved to put the mission's future to a parliamentary vote later this spring.
Last week, Harper discussed the issue in separate phone calls with U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Harper and Sarkozy pledged to stay in touch after this week's meeting of NATO defence ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania.
