Kabul will work 'vigorously' to make peace with Taliban: Zalmai
04 October, 2012
WASHINGTON: Afghanistan will work "vigorously" to seek peace with Taliban insurgents, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul vowed on Wednesday at the launch of new body set up to steer ties with the US. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also vowed the US would stand by Afghanistan as it seeks to emerge from decades of war, even after all US and NATO combat troops have left the country by late 2014. "We know that difficult days lie ahead. But despite the challenges, the United States is committed to the people of Afghanistan and we have made progress together that too often is overlooked," she said. "The United States has made an enduring commitment to Afghanistan that was forged in sacrifice," she said, adding the US has "invested a great deal in Afghanistan" pointing to the more than 2,000 US troops who have died there. "Now as partners we look to the future," Clinton added at the launch of a new bilateral commission set up "to guide the relationship between Afghanistan and the United States, as we move to the next phase of our relationship". Rassoul vowed that "negotiating a comprehensive bilateral security agreement between our two countries of satisfaction to both sides is of paramount importance". And he stressed, "We will continue to pursue the peace process vigorously. This is the just and deserving right of the Afghan people and the surest path to ending the cycle of violence in Afghanistan." "Afghanistan is fully committed to building on our shared sacrifice of the last decade, delivering results and taking on the challenges ahead," he added. End.
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