By IRNA
Berlin : The German government here Friday denied a report by the weekly Der Spiegel news magazine which reported that Berlin was involved in a NATO plan for coming up with an exit strategy in war-stricken Afghanistan.
Addressing the media in Berlin, deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said he was left “speechless and surprised” by the report.
He urged journalists “not to believe” the report which alleged that Germany was heading NATO efforts for a gradual troop withdrawal from Afghanistan amid growing public opposition to the continued deployment of German troops in the war-ravaged country.
The German master plan, to be drafted by the chancellery and the defense ministry, is to focus on outlining perspectives for an end to the German military mission in Afghanistan.
There are 43,000 NATO soldiers, of which there are 3,500 German soldiers, based throughout Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission.