Spain ruled out on Monday that it will send more troops to Afghanistan, where nearly 800 Spanish soldiers have been deployed, as part of the UN force.

Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said in Brussels that the issue is not sending more troops, but how to carry out a political-military development strategy against instability in that country.

The debate on Spain’s military presence in Afghanistan gained momentum on Sunday, when two Spanish soldiers were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Herat.

For his part, Jose Blanco, deputy secretary general of the governing Spanish Workers’ Socialist Party (PSOE), confirmed that President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has no plans to build up Spanish forces in Afghanistan.

The Council of Ministers reduced the number of Spanish troops abroad to 3,000 a few years ago.

According to the Defense Minister, 72,000 Spanish soldiers have participated in 52 peace operations and humanitarian missions since 1989.