"For transition to take place, we need Afghan forces to play their part, which means we need trainers," he told reporters in Brussels, ahead of talks between NATO foreign ministers in Tallinn set to start Thursday.

"We are still short about 450 trainers. It's a relatively small number, but those trainers have a big effect," he said, and urged the ministers "to see what they can do to free up these mission-critical resources."

Rasmussen said the ministers would also seek to agree "on the principles and decision-making framework" for security duties to be handed from NATO and US-led forces to the Afghans.

"We will ensure that transition takes place when clear political and military conditions are in place, and with the Afghans playing a key role," he said.

NATO leads a force of some 90,000 troops drawn from more than 40 nations and whose aim is to restore stability and democracy to Afghanistan in the face of a virulent Taliban- and Al-Qaeda-led insurgency.

The ash cloud from an Icelandic volanco, which grounded most flights in Europe for a fifth day Monday, has cast doubt over whether the NATO meeting in Estonia will go ahead on Thursday as planned.

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