Asia

Asia

Kerry meets with Afghan president

26 March 2013 03:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Afghan president Hamid Karzai and visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry have held a joint news conference. It comes after their meeting in the Presidential Palace in Kabul, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

According to an US official, Kerry paid an unannounced visit to Afghanistan to attend talks with Karzai and civic leaders. Both sides are hoping to stabilize the country before most foreign troops leave by the end of 2014.

Kerry and Karzai were expected to discuss a host of issues including Afghan reconciliation, the transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces and the country’s elections.

Karzai’s government is trying to open formal negotiations with the Taliban, which has remained resilient even after 12 years of fighting against NATO forces. Karzai is due to travel to Qatar within days to discuss the peace process and the opening of a Taliban office to conduct negotiations. The trip comes after years of stalled discussions with the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban.