VILNIUS (Reuters) - Canada sent senior officials to Paris on Friday to sound out France on a possible offer of support for 2,500 Canadian troops in south Afghanistan and said it had got its message across to allies on the need for help.
"We knocked on a lot of doors. Some of them are open and France is one of those countries ... We are going to have some discussions about logistically how we can make it happen," Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay told reporters.
MacKay, speaking on the last day of a two-day NATO defence ministers meeting, said it was too early to say exactly what the French help would consist of, but that France had the capability to meet Canada's requirements.
"I feel we delivered that message. There is no confusion what the requirements are," he said, pointing to a need for more troops and equipment. "We achieved some success."
Morin said on Thursday France was studying deployment options as part of a wider reorganisation of the 43,000-strong NATO-led Afghan peace force which he expected to be discussed at an April 2-4 alliance summit in Bucharest.
(Reporting by Patrick Lannin, Illona Wiessenbach and Mark John; Editing by Catherine Evans)
