Hollande: France will Coordinate Exit from Afghanistan

President Francois Hollande said Friday that France would coordinate with NATO allies the withdrawal of its combat troops from Afghanistan.

The French head of state said the pullout would take place with "good understanding with our allies" particularly U.S. President Barack Obama, during a visit to a military base in Kapisa, where most French troops are stationed in Afghanistan.

Aides said Hollande was in Afghanistan to "explain himself" to French soldiers why he had decided to pull them out of the war-torn country a year earlier than his predecessor planned, and two years before other NATO combat troops.

"It's a sovereign decision. Only France can decide what France does. It will be conducted in good understanding with our allies, especially President Obama, who understands the reasons, and in close consultation with Afghan authorities," Hollande said.

"Without having totally disappeared, the terrorist threat to our territory, as with that to our allies from Afghanistan, has been partially curbed," he added.

"France maintains its links with this country. We will continue our development projects," he said.

"It is not for the allies to decide the future of Afghanistan" but for Afghans "to take the path they chose freely," he added.