MADRID, Feb 10: Sending more troops to Afghanistan is not the answer to its problems and there has to be a greater emphasis on a political solution, Spain’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.

In Afghanistan, there is “a deficit on the political side and a surplus on the military side,” Miguel Angel Moratinos said, confirming that Madrid would not increase its 780 troop contingent there.

Spain’s troops serve alongside 70,000 from 40 countries under Nato auspices, with US forces the largest single contingent at 37,000. Washington plans to deploy another 30,000 as it winds down operations in Iraq.

Sending more troops “is a bad solution. We need to have a global political vision and talk to all the local actors,” Moratinos told the foreign press.—AFP