United Nations Radio

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the Dutch parliament to approve sending another 1,200 troops to Afghanistan.

In comments after meeting with the Dutch prime minister Monday, Mr. Annan said if the Dutch parliament vetoed the deployment plan, it would mean that the international efforts in Afghanistan, after all the investment it has put in, may not be successful. He warned of dire consequences saying that no one can afford to see a destabilized Afghanistan. The Dutch government supports the deployment of troops to the Uruzgan region of Afghanistan, but there is resistance in the parliament because of safety concerns.