Washington, July 15 (DPA) US President Barack Obama expressed hope Tuesday that Afghanistan can enter a “different phase” after elections take place in August.
Obama said any exit strategy for US and NATO forces would have to be met with the Afghan people taking on greater responsibility for security and governing.

“My hope is that we will be able to begin transitioning into a different phase in Afghanistan,” he said while meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Afghanistan’s presidential election is scheduled for August 20.

Obama has stepped up the US presence in Afghanistan to counter a resurgent Taliban as he seeks to draw down the US role in Iraq. Four thousand US Marines moved into the southern Helmand province earlier this months to regain control over the Taliban stronghold.

Obama thanked Balkenende for his country’s contributions in Afghanistan and its willingness to fight on the front lines of the conflict. Several NATO countries like Germany and France have limited their troop contribution to peacekeeping and training missions in relatively safer areas of the country.

“The vulnerabilities to terrorist attack in Europe are at least as high as they are here in the United States,” Obama said. “If you look at how Al Qaeda has operated, they consider the West to be one undifferentiated set of countries, and they will exploit whatever weaknesses are there.”

Meanwhile, Balkenende said he had accepted Obama’s invitation to the attend the summit of the world’s leading economies known as the Group of 20. The summit is set to take place in September in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to discuss the worldwide financial crisis.

The Netherlands is not a member of the G20.