Recent rhetoric unhelpful for Afghanistan’s relations with its partners – Ban
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he continues to expect full cooperation between Afghanistan and its global partners, adding that recent comments critical of the international community by the country’s President Hamid Karzai are unhelpful.
Mr. Karzai was reported in the media last week as having said that foreigners, including former UN deputy envoy Peter Galbraith, were behind the fraud that marred last year’s presidential poll, which he eventually won.
He also reportedly threatened to join the Taliban if foreigners did not stop meddling in Afghanistan.
“I am troubled by all this rhetoric, which is not helpful and desirable at this time,” Mr. Ban told reporters during his visit to Vienna.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Michael Spindelegger, the Secretary-General noted that Mr. Karzai has requested UN technical and administrative support for the country’s parliamentary elections, slated for September.
“The international community is now committed and ready to support Afghanistan and we expect that there should be harmonious and full cooperation between the Afghanistan Government and the international community,” he stated, adding that the Government should take all measures to enhance good governance, tackle corruption and address various socio-economic issues.
Mr. Ban and Mr. Spindelegger also discussed a number of other topics, including the future of UN peacekeeping operations, the need to continue to support Middle East peace talks, and the current challenge of nuclear non-proliferation and the specific cases of Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
While in Vienna, the Secretary-General also met with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, as well as Chancellor Werner Faymann, with whom he discussed, among other topics, the Middle East peace process, non-proliferation, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and climate change.