France to return to NATO command

PARIS, March 11 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that his country will return to NATO's military command after a 42-year rift.

In 1966, French President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's integrated military command, saying it undermined France's sovereignty, BBC reported.

"This rapprochement with NATO ensures our national independence," Sarkozy said. "To distance ourselves would limit our independence and our room for maneuver."

The British network said Sarkozy is expected to formalize Paris's new relationship with NATO in a letter before the organization celebrates its 60th anniversary next month with a summit in the French city of Strasbourg.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he welcomed Sarkozy's announcement.

He said France's full participation in NATO decision-making and planning processes "cannot but strengthen the alliance further."