French PM says no plans for Afghanistan pullout

PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said today France had no plans to withdraw its military forces from Afghanistan, dismissing speculation that a pullout was being considered.

''There is no plan for disengagement by France in Afghanistan,'' Fillon said after a meeting in Paris with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. ''France will be true to its commitments and true to its allies,'' he said.

Speculation that France may cut down on its engagement in Afghanistan grew after new President Nicolas Sarkozy said during the recent election campaign that he saw no long term role for French troops there.

France withdrew some 200 special forces soldiers who had been operating under US command earlier this year but still has some 1,100 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of a 35,000-strong NATO-led operation.

Two French aid workers and their three Afghan colleagues taken hostage by the Taliban earlier this year were released unharmed in what their captors said was a gesture of goodwill after Sarkozy's comments.

REUTERS AM RK2126