COPENHAGEN: A top American diplomat is urging Western countries to increase funding for Afghanistan as they prepare to pull their troops out of the troubled area.

Marc Grossman, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, says he expects problems in the country but the risk of setbacks is reduced if funds are raised to enable a “sufficient and sustainable number of Afghan National Security Forces.”

Grossman was speaking in Copenhagen on Monday at the start of a tour of European countries.

The United States and Nato plan to keep some forces in Afghanistan through the end of 2014 when Afghanistan will assume the lead combat role across the country.