Angela Merkel on Monday said she was "worried" about the attitude of some Nato allies to Afghanistan, and criticised the government in Kabul for failing to spell out exactly what it expects of the international community.

In her most outspoken comments on Afghanistan since Germany came under pressure this month to send more troops, the German chancellor said she had "absolutely no time" for proposals to redeploy Nato troops within Afghanistan.

The US and other governments have called on Germany to send more troops to the war-torn regions in southern Afghanistan. The chancellor rejected this, but appeared to leave open the option to dispatch more troops in the autumn, when the parliamentary mandate for Berlin's deployment expires.

Without naming specific countries, Ms Merkel told a meeting with foreign correspondents in Berlin that she was "worried about the current debate in Nato. We decided only a few years ago on a division of labour among Nato partners," she said, referring to the role of Germany's 3,300 troops in the relatively peaceful north and the responsibilities of other countries elsewhere.