| Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, November 19, 2001 |
US Welcomes Northern Alliance's Consent to Attend Afghan Talks |
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The United States welcomed on Sunday the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance's consent to take part in the coming UN-brokered talks on forming a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan.
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The United States welcomed on Sunday the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance's consent to take part in the coming UN-brokered talks on forming a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan.
"The purpose of the meeting would be to bring together a number of leaders representing different parts of Afghanistan, different ethnicities, different tribes, and see if we can get an interim government in place and then stand up a broader government over time," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on "Fox News Sunday."
The secretary said he was very pleased that the Northern Alliance, which now controls two-thirds of Afghanistan under US military support, has agreed to participate in the meeting organized by UN envoy for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi.
The meeting, which will also be attended by other Afghan opposition forces, is believed to be held in Europe within days. But the Northern Alliance had insisted that the meeting be held in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, which is now under its control.
"The holdup (of the meeting) had been the Northern Alliance," Powell said.
The Northern Alliance backed down only after a series of meetings between its representatives and U.S. special envoy for Central Asia, James Dobbins, over the past few days.
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