Karzai, Kerry confer on border tiff, security pact

KABUL): President Hamid Karzai and US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday conferred on regional issues of common interest, the Presidential Palace said.

The latest Afghanistan-US trilateral meeting in Brussels came under discussion during the telephone call in the afternoon, a brief statement from Karzai’s office said.

It added the recent Afghan-Pakistan tension over the Durand Line — the British-mandated frontier — and other subjects of regional importance were also discussed.

On April 25, the president met Kerry, who arranged the three-way talks in the Belgian capital, and Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Gen. Parvez Kayani.

Kerry hailed the meeting as “productive” but hastened to add any results would have to be measured in terms of improved ties.

The Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), currently under negotiations between Kabul and Washington, was one of issues discussed, the statement said, without elaborating.

At a meeting in Kabul on May 11, the Afghanistan-US Bilateral Commission, created under the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), reviewed progress in implementing the vision of a secure, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and Deputy Secretary of State William Joseph Burns, who led their respective delegations, agreed on intensifying efforts to conclude the Bilateral Security and Defense Cooperation Agreement negotiations as soon as possible.

In Washington, a spokesperson for Kerry said: “They discussed our joint progress on the bilateral security agreement, border issues and the status of the ongoing peace process.”

Jen Psaki told reporters Kerry and Karzai remained committed to the same goal of a stable and sovereign Afghanistan, responsible for its own security and able to ensure it could never again be a safe haven for terrorists.

pr/mud

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