Obama, left, met Sarkozy ahead of a Nato summit in Germany [AFP]

Speaking at a news conference with Obama, in Strasbourg on Friday, Sarkozy gave his support to "the new American strategy in Afghanistan", but added there would be "no strengthening of French troops" in the country.

He said France was ready to do more in the field of police training and economic aid.

The two leaders addressed the media hours before the beginning of a Nato summit, which is likely to focus on Afghanistan.

Obama plan

Obama is due to talk with Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, before the Nato summit opens in the German town of Baden-Baden.

The US president is set to unveil more details of his plan to tackle a resurgent Taliban-led opposition in Afghanistan and Pakistan at the summit.

Obama is expected to call for greater support on troop deployments needed to bolster his plan.

European nations have been reluctant to commit extra troops to Afghanistan in support of about 70,000 mostly Nato soldiers already stationed there.

French return

Nato leaders will also formally admit France back into Nato's military command structure, after a 43-year absence.

Russia's war in Georgia has highlighted tensions between Nato and Moscow [AFP]

Marcin Zaborowski, a senior research fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, said that Paris' return to the Nato military wing does not automatically mean it will commit more troops to its current 2,000-strong presence in Afghanistan.

"The significance of France re-joining Nato is largely symbolic, rather than practical. There are two key issues that will come up in debate. The first is that France is going back to Nato to have more of a say in the decision-making process, the implications of which are being felt by France itself," he said.

"Secondly, I think that the influence in the Nato stucture is not necessarily linked to the contibution to Afghanistan. What is really important for the US is that France is back in Nato. That sends a certain signal to other nations."

Croatia and Albania will also be formally welcomed into the Nato alliance at the summit.

Russian ties

The summit, which marks Nato's 60th anniversary, will also examine the alliance's relations with Russia, which deteriorated after Moscow’s war with Georgia in August.

The Russian government has repeatedly stressed its opposition to what it calls Nato's attempts to gain influence in regions within Moscow's traditional sphere of influence.

Both Georgia and Ukraine, which were members of the former Soviet Union, have in recent months signalled their intention to join Nato.

Pavel Felgenhauer, a defence analyst and columnist for the Moscow-based Novaya Gazeta newspaper, said that Russia may consider helping Nato in its mission in Afghanistan if the alliance refrains from expanding towards the Russian border.

"Russia does not like Nato much but it also does not like the Taliban in Afghanistan, which is Nato's main enemy. Right now, Russia is ready to help Nato in Afghanistan but Nato will have to take into account certain interests [of Russia].

"There is a degree of tension and most of that is because of [the war in] Georgia. For Russia, Nato is not seen as a separate player but a continuation of Washington. Moscow does not want Nato to expand into the post-Soviet space and take on Georgia and Ukraine."

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