Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Afghan candidates to settle on president by month’s end

John Kerry opens second day of talks in Afghanistan aimed at preventing the fragile country from collapsing

Matthew Lee
Friday 08 August 2014 19:40 BST
Comments
Secretary of State John Kerry with Afghanistan's presidential candidates Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (centre) and Abdullah Abdullah
Secretary of State John Kerry with Afghanistan's presidential candidates Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (centre) and Abdullah Abdullah (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Afghanistan’s feuding presidential candidates agreed yesterday to resolve their election dispute and said they would set an inauguration date before the end of this month.

The breakthrough came as the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, opened a second day of talks in Afghanistan aimed at preventing the fragile country from collapsing into political chaos after disputed elections.

“This is really an Afghan solution to an Afghan problem,” Mr Kerry said. “Both parties have agreed to stay at it and both parties have agreed to live by the outcome.”

He visited the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, and met later with the two men, the former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who have been locked in a bitter dispute over who will succeed Mr Karzai.

Mr Abdullah called the agreement “another step forward in the interests of strengthening national unity in the country, strengthening rule of law in the country and bringing hope to the people for the future of Afghanistan”.

Mr Ahmadzai said he and Mr Abdullah, whom he called a “brother and colleague”, were determined to turn turmoil in many parts of the Muslim world into a “virtuous circle” for the people of Afghanistan.

AP

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in