NATO talks aim to staunch defense cuts

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a series of austerity measures Monday, including cutting the nation's armed forces by almost 40,000 soldiers.

However, Rasmussen expects to secure pledges for hundreds more soldiers in order to help build effective military and police forces in Afghanistan.

He promised Monday to decrease non-essential NATO spending internally in a bid to avoid external cuts on essentials, noting that the alliance will cut 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) off its budget thanks to "savings and deferrals."

The measures will include setting clear spending priorities, improving auditing, and "a major reduction in the number of committees in this organization," he added.

Agencies contributed to this story