Foreign Secretary David Miliband has failed to rule out the need for additional troops in Afghanistan as he discussed the need for a joint military and political strategy to defeat the Taliban.

In an interview for PBS's Newshour during a two-day visit to the US, Mr Miliband said that there was no long-term military "solution" on its own, adding that coalition forces were not looking to turn the country into a "colony".

Asked if this meant that a reported American request for Britain to send more soldiers to Afghanistan was unlikely to be met, the Foreign Secretary said additional numbers would "depend on the situation on the ground and burden sharing among the allies".

The comments come towards the end of the bloodiest month for British forces in Afghanistan since the mission began in October 2001. To date, 22 soldiers have died in July including the highest-ranking Army officer to be killed in battle since the Falklands.

Earlier this year it was reported that US Army officials including General David Petraeus, who oversees operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, were pressing the UK government to deploy 2,000 more troops in Afghanistan.

In his interview for PBS, Mr Miliband said that he had only seen that figure "in newspapers not Cabinet papers".

He added that British numbers in the country had already risen from around 3,000 to 9,000. Asked if this was set to increase further, the foreign secretary said: "That depends on the situation on the ground and the burden sharing among the allies. This is a 42-country effort and it is important that all countries play their appropriate part."

He added: "Britain has increased its numbers. We are guided by the situation on the ground, the assets we have at our disposal, and the fair sharing of the burden."

Mr Miliband stressed that military actions alone were not sufficient to beat the Taliban in Afghanistan. He said: "We all know that in the end there is no long-term military 'solution'."

The foreign secretary added that there was a need to create the space for sustainable home-grown politics and sustainable governments. "We are not trying to create a colony in Afghanistan," he said.

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