"There are 40 countries participating in the NATO mission in Afghanistan (ISAF). And nobody can leave, nobody will leave," De Hoop Scheffer said in an interview with Dutch daily NCR Handelsblad.

"I honestly cannot imagine that the Netherlands would pull out single-handedly," he added.

The Dutch cabinet is set to decide within the next few months whether or not to extend the mission of Dutch troops in southern Uruzgan province beyond its scheduled end in August 2008. There are currently 1,665 Dutch soldiers stationed in Afghanistan.

When the Netherlands agreed to go to Afghanistan the deal with the NATO was that it would be a two-year mission and the alliance would look for a successor for the Dutch deployment.

De Hoop Scheffer stressed that things have changed since then.

"Much has happened in Afghanistan. The situation in the south is more complicated than we could foresee two years ago," he said.

"I cannot imagine that the Netherlands will leave single-handedly just because of the situation that will arise with Australia that would then find itself in Uruzgan without a lead nation," De Hoop Scheffer explained.

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