Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with Pakistan's
army chief and foreign secretary Wednesday in the hopes of easing tensions
between the neighboring countries ahead of NATO's pullout from Afghanistan next
year.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry brought the
leaders together in Brussels at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to NATO, a
day after a gathering of NATO foreign ministers.
After about three hours of talks, Kerry said he had
made progress with President Karzai and Pakistan's Army Chief General Ashfaq
Kayaniand Foreign Secretary Jalil Jilani But he added that a lot of
homework still remained, and he would not give any specifics.
Neither Karzai nor the Pakistani officials made any
comments after the meeting.
On Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh
Rasmussen called on Pakistan to play a positive role in bringing long-term
peace and stability to Afghanistan. NATO is set to pull out most of its
combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Washington has long been pushing for better relations
between the two neighbors. Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have
been strained for years, with Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of supporting
Taliban fighters along their shared border. Pakistan rejects the
accusations.
Sources :
http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-hosts-afghanpakistan-talks-in-brussels/1647898.html
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