BERLIN, Sept. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Defense ministers from NATO's 26 member states still differed on the bloc's operations in Afghanistan as they continued their meeting for a second day here on Wednesday.

    Speaking at a briefing on Tuesday, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the issue tops the agenda of the meeting.

    "The operations are moving closer together geographically. They will have to develop greater synergy, greater mutual support between them," he told reporters.

    US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged the alliance to broaden its operations in Afghanistan.

    "Over time it would be nice if NATO would develop counter terrorist capabilities which don't exist at the current time, " he said.

    More than 10,000 troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) keep security in the northern and western parts of Afghanistan while about 19,000 US-led troops are fighting insurgents in the south and east.

    The US proposal has drawn different reactions.

    In an interview with a local German radio on Tuesday, German Defense Minister Peter Struck said Germany rejected a merger of NATO peacekeeping forces with US troops engaged in fighting Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

    He said that the NATO-led international force was in a " protection and aid" mission that enjoyed wide acceptance among the local population while the fight against insurgents was opposed by certain groups in Afghanistan.

    The German defense minister said NATO troops should not be exposed to more dangers, stressing that "a critical situation could arise very quickly."

    Britain and Canada support the US proposal. British Defense Secretary John Reid told reporters that plans to keep the alliance's mission in Afghanistan and the US forces separate but under one commander were "sensible."

    However, such synergy would not be achieved overnight and without more discussions, Reid said.

    Germany also indicated such a plan would be considered. The two pillars, NATO and the US-led troops, could be under "one roof," Struck said.

    But France won't accept it. Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said the two missions should not be put under one central command.

    The minister said that the two missions are "very different" and are in "different circumstances."

    Another subject high on the agenda of the meeting is the reform of the alliance.

    NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Tuesday urged ministers of the 26-nation alliance to work to transform the alliance so as to meet future challenges.

    "We need to be clear about what we want our Alliance to be able to do militarily in the future," he told the ministers. Enditem