The conflict between foreign affairs minister Maxime Verhagen and deputy prime minister Wouter Bos over a letter from Nato urging the Netherlands to stay longer in Afghanistan has been put down to a ‘misunderstanding’.

Speaking at a short news conference after Friday’s cabinet meeting, Labour party leader Bos said he had been kept fully informed about contacts between Verhagen and Nato after all.
On Thursday, Bos told a tv current affairs show he had been surprised by Nato’s request to the Netherlands to stay in Afghanistan for another year to train local soldiers. And he reiterated Labour’s opposition to any extension to the Dutch mission.
But Verhagen said all the necessary ministers, including Bos, had been kept fully informed.
The cabinet has pledged to reach agreement on the Dutch role in Afghanistan by the end of March. The Dutch pull-out is due to begin in August.