KABUL - French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Kabul on Tuesday for a five-hour visit to Afghanistan, as the United States and France prepare to speed up their withdrawal of troops from the country.

Sarkozy was due to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai and General David Petraeus, the top US commander in the country, before dropping in on French troops stationed in the region of Surobi.

His visit followed a trip by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the weekend and comes after the United States and France said in June that they would pull soldiers out earlier than expected from the nearly decade-old military campaign against Taliban insurgents.