Blair in urgent peacekeeping talks

Tony Blair will today embark on an urgent round of talks with key EU leaders to speed the setting up of an international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

Britain hopes that the elementsof the new International Security Assistance Force - ISAF - as it has been dubbed, can be agreed within days.

The military nuts and bolts are being discussed at a conference of officers from around a dozen countries meeting in London, led on the British side by the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Tony Piggott.

However, Mr Blair will use the EU summit at Laeken which begins today to build political impetus in talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schr?der of Germany, France's President Chirac and the premiers of Spain and Italy.

The Prime Minister annoyed other EU members at their last gathering by holding a minisummit of those involved in the military planning. This time he will sidestep trouble by talking to his fellow leaders privately, one by one. But the aim is the same.

A senior British Army officer, Major General John McColl has been despatched to Afghanistan to prepare the ground for ISAF, visiting Kabul, the airport at Bagram and other key points. He will report back early next week. Although British officials would not give even an informal target date the aim is for an announcement early next week to be followed within 48-hours of the arrival of the first forces.