Rudd heading for key US talks

30 Nov 2009, 7:31 am   -   Source: AAP
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PM Kevin Rudd is heading to Washington for key talks with US President Barack Obama that will be dominated by climate change and the conflict in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is heading to Washington for key talks with US President Barack Obama that will be dominated by climate change and the conflict in Afghanistan.

Rudd will arrive fresh from a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad, where he helped steer a landmark declaration backing moves to draw up a legally binding pact to fight global warming at climate talks in Copenhagen in December.

Obama will host the Australian prime minister, whose country is a key member of the coalition fighting in Afghanistan, at the White House on Monday.

"Obviously a primary preoccupation of both the president and myself is the Copenhagen conference and our respective efforts to deliver a strong, robust Copenhagen agreement," Rudd told journalists in Trinidad.

But the two men will also discuss Afghanistan on the eve of a nationwide address by Obama to lay out a new strategy for the conflict, including deploying more than 30,000 extra troops.

During a surprise visit to Australian forces fighting in southern Afghanistan two weeks ago, Rudd gave assurances his troops were in for the long haul.

But he indicated on Sunday that he would refuse any request to send more soldiers to the conflict.

Australia has about 1,550 troops in Afghanistan, making it the ninth biggest contributor of international forces fighting the hardline Islamists who were forced from power in 2001.

"Earlier this year... Australia increased its troop commitment to Afghanistan by about 40 per cent," Rudd said on Sunday.

"As I have said consistently since then, we believe our troop commitment is about right and my view on that hasn't changed."

The United States has about 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, bearing by far the largest share of the burden of the fight against the Taliban and remnants of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

NATO allies, whose 42,000-strong contribution swells the number of foreign forces in Afghanistan to about 110,000, are due to consider sending more troops at gatherings of the military alliance from December 3-4 and on December 7.

The White House said on Friday: "Australia is an important ally of and partner with the United States in addressing the many common regional and global challenges we face."

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