The United States wants Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to defer his second-term i...
WASHINGTON - The United States wants Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to defer his second-term inauguration over concerns it could inflame an election feud with his political rival and jeopardize U.S.-led peacemaking efforts, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The competing claims, neither of which Washington has recognized, threaten a U.S.-led peace process that got a boost on Saturday with the start of a week-long reduction in violence that is to culminate on Saturday with the signing of a U.S.-Taliban deal on a U.S. troop withdrawal. A source familiar with the matter said that because of those concerns, U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been in Kabul since last week, wants Ghani to delay his planned inauguration to a second five-year term.
A former senior Afghan official said Khalilzad, an Afghan-born veteran U.S. diplomat, was pressing Ghani to postpone the ceremony and trying to persuade Abdullah to do the same to preserve the peace process.The former senior Afghan official said that even if there was an “inclusive” delegation chosen to talk with the Taliban, the Ghani-Abdullah feud could “spill into the negotiating process.”
The official Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian as saying that foreign forces should be withdrawn in a way that avoids “a security vacuum, which terrorist organizations may take advantage of.” Abdullah rejected the results, and said he would name his own Cabinet. Last weekend, he named loyalists as governors to two provinces.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Will a peace deal in Afghanistan come at the expense of Afghan women?The US once vowed to liberate Afghan women from Taliban repression but a planned deal offers no protections for the country's women, who fear their hard-won rights could be lost.
Read more »
Sanders' 'very, very different' economic plan no match for Trump's, Mnuchin claimsBernie Sanders' 'very, very different' economic plan is unlikely to triumph over President Donald Trump's if he wins the Democratic Party presidential nomination, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Read more »
Brazil’s ‘Dry Wind’ Closes U.S., U.K. and France (EXCLUSIVE)Daniel Nolasco’s Berlinale Panorama Entry “Dry Wind” has powered up a trio of major territory sales. Sales agent the Open Reel has licensed all rights to the U.S. and U.K. with TLA Releasing, while…
Read more »
TrustNordisk Sells WWII Norwegian Family Drama ‘The Crossing’ to the U.S. (EXCLUSIVE)TrustNordisk has sold “The Crossing,” an inspiring WWII-set Norwegian family drama, to the U.S and a string of Eastern European countries. The movie was picked up by Menemsha Entertainm…
Read more »
Exclusive: U.S. sees no material impact from virus on U.S.-China trade deal - for nowExclusive: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Reuters he does not expect the coronavirus outbreak to have a material impact on the Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal by andrea_shalal
Read more »
New Italian Studio Complex Planned For 2021 in Southern Apulia Region (EXCLUSIVE)Plans are under way for an ambitious new Italian studio complex comprising nine soundstages and two water tanks to be soon built in the Southern Italian region of Apulia. The Apulia Studios, as the…
Read more »