NATO chief still hopes to salvage new Afghan mission

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen holds a news conference during a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels February 26, 2014. REUTERS/Laurent Dubrule

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO's chief said on Wednesday he still hoped plans to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond this year could be salvaged despite objections by President Hamid Karzai that have called the mission into question.

NATO plans to keep a scaled-down training mission with around 8,000 to 12,000 soldiers in Afghanistan after international troops end combat operations by year-end.