Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Germany will help its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies in the south of Afghanistan in the case of emergencies, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, stopping short of committing troops to help fight a Taliban insurgency.

``Of course, support will be provided in an emergency,'' Merkel told reporters after a meeting of NATO leaders in Riga, Latvia, today. What constitutes an emergency was not part of the discussions, she said.

The German government may require renewed backing from lawmakers in the lower house of parliament in Berlin in the event of emergency missions, German Deputy Foreign Minister Guenter Gloser said in a separate interview today.

Merkel's comments follow a summit dominated by the war in Afghanistan, where NATO's International Security Assistance Force comprises 32,500 troops from 37 countries. President George W. Bush yesterday called on allies to make more troops available to fight the insurgency in the south of the country, while British Prime Minister Tony Blair said NATO's ``credibility is at stake'' in Afghanistan.

`No Changing Mandates'

``We have the ISAF mandate and Operation Enduring Freedom,'' the U.S.-led response to the Sept. 11 attacks, which includes the campaign in Afghanistan, Merkel said. ``We have no intention of changing either of those but to do our work on the basis of those mandates.''

Germany has 2,900 personnel in the northeast of the country, where they are mainly engaged in reconstruction and development work rather than frontline combat duty. Merkel stood by Germany's mission, saying the presence of German soldiers in a region hosting 40 percent of the Afghan population helps give people ``a perspective'' for security and stifles possible terrorist threats. That is ``key'' to success in Afghanistan, where a solution lies not only in a military response, she said.

Efforts to promote greater political stability have to be co-ordinated ``more strongly,'' the German leader said, counting on a so-called contact group endorsed by NATO leaders at the summit.

While ruling out any permanent troop deployment in the south, Merkel said her government is considering offering training to police units and to assist road-building projects. Germany has already helped with medical evacuation and specific reconnaissance tasks that, covered by a parliamentary mandate, could also possibly extended to the south, she said.

Parliamentary Approval

NATO leaders had no discussion on what might constitute emergency cases and merely agreed that solidarity among the alliance's 26 members is ``an important precept,'' according to Merkel.

The government must ``carefully gauge'' whether possible assignments in the south are covered by a parliamentary mandate, Deputy Foreign Minister Gloser said. Germany ``might need'' renewed backing from lawmakers if emergency missions conflict with the mandate.

``Our mandate doesn't provide blanket authority'' for any emergency mission, Gloser said. Understanding among NATO allies for Germany's legal constraints, which stem from its post-World War II constitution aimed at restricting any future conflict, ``hasn't been too pronounced,'' the Social Democrat added.

`Difficult Assignments'

Commanders of NATO's troops said at the summit that restrictions placed by national leaders on their militaries are hampering efforts to root out the Taliban in the south of the country.

Bush, speaking yesterday in Estonia, said alliance members ``must provide the forces NATO military commanders require'' and `` accept difficult assignments if we expect to be successful.''

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer also called on members of the alliance to step up their commitment to fighting insurgents by reducing the restrictions, or ``caveats.'' In southern Afghanistan, caveats have contributed to a 20 percent deficit of NATO's required force strength, he said.

``Through none of the discussions here have I felt other demands than those we have seen to date will be put to us,'' said Merkel. ``I also got the impression that that is what is desired by NATO.''

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said yesterday that his country would not allow its 1,900 troops in Kabul and Herat to be moved by NATO commanders to other parts of Afghanistan.

``We are very pleased with the German contribution,'' the U.K.'s Ambassador to Germany Peter Torry said on German television station N-TV today. ``Who would have thought 10 years ago that almost 3,000 German soldiers would once do their duty in Afghanistan.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Patrick Donahue in Riga at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net; Andreas Cremer in Berlin at acremer@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 29, 2006 08:41 EST