Prime Minister David Cameron has arrived in Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the end of a surprise two-day visit to the country.
Serious criticisms by Mr Karzai of the British military effort against the Taliban revealed in leaked US diplomatic cables are certain to be on the agenda for the meeting.
The Prime Minister insisted that the concern exposed by the Wikileaks website was out of date and "does not change any of the fundamentals".
The cables detail conversations in which Mr Karzai said UK forces were "not up to the task" of securing southern Helmand province and that the job would be better given to the US.
Helmand governor Gulab Mangal was also said to have criticised UK troops for failing to get out of their bases and engage with local people.
Addressing reporters at Camp Bastion, where he stayed overnight after visiting troops serving in Afghanistan on Monday, Mr Cameron played down the impact of the leaks.
"Of course WikiLeaks has led to lots of embarrassing questions and all the rest of it, but I think, in the end, it does not change any of the fundamentals between Britain and America, it doesn't change any of the fundamentals between Britain, America and Afghanistan, but obviously it has provided a lot of copy," he said.
Asked how it would affect relations with President Karzai, he said: "Of course sometimes there are frustrations but we want someone who is going to speak up for Afghanistan and who wants to take control of Afghanistan, who wants an Afghanistan without foreign forces on its soil. We have frank exchanges, of course we do, but I don't think either of us want this to get in the way of what needs to be a strong relationship between our countries and between our governments in order to deliver what we want."
The head of the UK Armed Forces, Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir David Richards - who accompanied Mr Cameron on a tour of bases - said: "At no stage were they criticising the ability of the British soldier. It was all about our inability to produce the force ratios - those days are past us and our linkages at every level with the American armed forces are incredibly strong."
The meeting came after Mr Cameron suggested that British troops could start to be withdrawn next year amid "cautious optimism" about progress on the ground. And his view on the timetable was backed by Gen Richards who hailed the "astronomical" quickening of results on the ground and said success in the mission was "eminently do-able".
Prime Minister David Cameron has arrived in Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the end of a surprise two-day visit to the country.
Serious criticisms by Mr Karzai of the British military effort against the Taliban revealed in leaked US diplomatic cables are certain to be on the agenda for the meeting.
The Prime Minister insisted that the concern exposed by the Wikileaks website was out of date and "does not change any of the fundamentals".
The cables detail conversations in which Mr Karzai said UK forces were "not up to the task" of securing southern Helmand province and that the job would be better given to the US.
Helmand governor Gulab Mangal was also said to have criticised UK troops for failing to get out of their bases and engage with local people.
Addressing reporters at Camp Bastion, where he stayed overnight after visiting troops serving in Afghanistan on Monday, Mr Cameron played down the impact of the leaks.
"Of course WikiLeaks has led to lots of embarrassing questions and all the rest of it, but I think, in the end, it does not change any of the fundamentals between Britain and America, it doesn't change any of the fundamentals between Britain, America and Afghanistan, but obviously it has provided a lot of copy," he said.
Asked how it would affect relations with President Karzai, he said: "Of course sometimes there are frustrations but we want someone who is going to speak up for Afghanistan and who wants to take control of Afghanistan, who wants an Afghanistan without foreign forces on its soil. We have frank exchanges, of course we do, but I don't think either of us want this to get in the way of what needs to be a strong relationship between our countries and between our governments in order to deliver what we want."
The head of the UK Armed Forces, Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir David Richards - who accompanied Mr Cameron on a tour of bases - said: "At no stage were they criticising the ability of the British soldier. It was all about our inability to produce the force ratios - those days are past us and our linkages at every level with the American armed forces are incredibly strong."
The meeting came after Mr Cameron suggested that British troops could start to be withdrawn next year amid "cautious optimism" about progress on the ground. And his view on the timetable was backed by Gen Richards who hailed the "astronomical" quickening of results on the ground and said success in the mission was "eminently do-able".