France aids Canadian troops in Afghanistan

PARIS, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- France relieved NATO tensions by agreeing to send troops to aid Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, a report said.

French Defense Minister Herve Morin, said his country would "help the Canadians," after a NATO meeting Thursday in Lithuania, the Financial Times reported.

Morin's statement comes after Canada reportedly threatened to withdraw 2,500 troops from Kandahar in Afghanistan unless they received the aid of 1,000 additional troops from NATO allies.

It is reported that alliance tensions were raised after countries including Germany, Italy and Spain were unwilling to send armed forces to southern Afghanistan.

The amount of help from France, which is yet to be exacted, covers a small portion of the 7,000 additional troops requested by NATO's military commander, the newspaper said.