The United States pledged to send "many more" soldiers to Afghanistan -- and it appears the move will come on top of the 1,000 U.S. soldiers already pledged to help Canada in Kandahar.
U.S. President George Bush made the pledge during the final day of NATO meetings Friday in Bucharest, Romania.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters that the pledge had nothing to do with the planned reduction of forces in Iraq. He was not specific about the number of troops the U.S. would be adding in Afghanistan.
The news can only add to Canada's swagger after a very successful set of meetings, in which NATO agreed to Canada's demands for more troops and equipment for the dangerous southern region of Afghanistan.
Despite Bush's pledge, the last day of the summit meeting was dominated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is extremely displeased with NATO on two separate issues.
On arrival, however, Putin received treatment more accustomed to a rock star, than a politician.
"Putin walked in and there was quite a gaggle of, well to be frank, young women around him clamouring for his autograph and trying to get pictures of him. He seemed to be basking in all of it," CTV's Graham Richardson said on Canada AM, reporting from Bucharest.
Russia's NATO problem
NATO's promise to eventually allow the former Soviet states of Ukraine and Georgia into the alliance deeply worries Russia, Putin said Friday.
A typically blunt Putin called their potential entry into NATO "a direct threat to the security of our country."
And a senior Russian diplomat said that NATO's relationship with its former rival, has soured over the course of the meetings.
"A culture of searching for solutions on the basis of taking mutual interests into account has been lost,'' Sergei Ryabkov, chief of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for European co-operation, told reporters.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer reassured Ukraine and Georgia Friday that there was "not a sliver of a doubt'' the two ex-countries would join the alliance in the near future.
NATO's decision to back the U.S. missile defence plans was not welcomed by Putin, who has opposed the program for years.
Putin views the U.S. missile shield as a direct challenge to Russia's nuclear deterrent and has ignored U.S. pledges saying that the shield is intended to counter "rogue states," like Iran or North Korea.
Putin and Bush were expected to meet three times in three days -- likely their last face-to-face sit-downs before both finish their terms in office.
On a positive note, Richardson said a deal was also reached to allow "non-lethal materials" to be transported across Russian soil en route to Afghanistan.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay, on the line from Bucharest, told Canada AM that Putin's presence at the meetings, as the leader of a nuclear-armed global super power, was positive even if they didn't agree on everything.
"While he has certainly put down firm markers on where Russia stands on expansion and stated his concerns, the dialogue will continue," MacKay said, noting that the NATO summit provided the opportunity for important face-to-face meetings.
"I view that as positive and I think there is a collective will to continue to have these discussions and it makes for a more secure overall environment."
With files from The Associated Press
