Hamid Karzai
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Report: Karzai Unlikely to Meet U.S. Security Deal Deadline

The top U.S. negotiator in talks to secure a long-term security deal with Afghanistan has warned that President Hamid Karzai is unlikely to sign the agreement on time, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The assessment was made in recent days by U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham in a classified cable, after President Barack Obama's administration repeatedly extended the deadline for the agreement, originally due to be signed early last fall.

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Afghan President Says he Does Not 'Trust' U.S.

Visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in New Delhi on Saturday he no longer "trusts" the United States, accusing the Americans of saying one thing and doing another in his troubled homeland.

Karzai's statement to journalists came a day after he insisted he would not be "intimidated" into signing a security pact allowing U.S. troops in Afghanistan to stay on after next year.

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Karzai Warns against 'Initimidation' on U.S. Troop Deal

Afghanistan will not be bullied into signing a security pact allowing U.S. troops to stay on after next year, President Hamid Karzai said as he pressed India on Friday for more military hardware.

Karzai met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid at the start of a three-day visit, with the United States hoping New Delhi can persuade him to ink the troubled pact.

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Rouhani Meets Karzai, Urges Withdrawal of All Foreign Forces from Afghanistan

Iran wants all foreign forces to leave Afghanistan, President Hassan Rouhani told his visiting Afghan counterpart Sunday amid a row between Kabul and Washington over a long-delayed security pact.

Iran "is opposed to the presence of any foreign force in the region, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf and particularly the Islamic country of Afghanistan,"Rouhani told Hamid Karzai, who was in Tehran for a one-day visit.

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Karzai in Iran amid U.S. Security Row

Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Iran for talks Sunday amid disagreement with the United States over a security accord that would allow some NATO forces to stay in Afghanistan.

Karzai will meet President Hassan Rouhani -- for the second time in four months in Tehran -- and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the official IRNA news agency reported.

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Iran Criticises Mooted U.S.-Afghan Security Pact

Iran voiced criticism Tuesday of a proposed pact that would pave the way for a U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014, saying it would not serve its neighbor's interests.

"Iran does not see the signing and ratifying of this security pact to be beneficial for the long-term interests of the people and government of Afghanistan," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said.

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NATO Seeks Afghan Accord as it Looks for New Role

NATO foreign ministers were set to try Tuesday to nail down an accord with Kabul on the alliance's new role in Afghanistan as pressing problems in Ukraine, Syria and beyond all call for attention.

The immediate issue is NATO's planned training and advisory mission in Afghanistan after it ends its biggest ever combat operation there next year, clearing the decks for leaders to set a new course for the alliance at a summit in late 2014.

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Taliban Back Karzai in U.S. Pact Dispute

Taliban insurgents fighting against the U.S.-backed Afghan government expressed their support on Monday for President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign a security pact with Washington.

Karzai is locked in a public dispute with the U.S. over the security deal, which would allow some U.S. soldiers to remain in Afghanistan after NATO's combat mission ends next year.

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NATO Warns Karzai Aid at Risk if No Troop Accord

NATO officials warned Afghan President Hamid Karzai Monday that he must sign a U.S. troop status accord or put at risk future military and development aid for his country.

While planning continues for a post-2014 training and advisory mission after NATO ends combat operations, time is pressing and political and military practicalities mean the agreement must be signed soon, a senior NATO official said.

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Pakistan PM in Kabul Pledges Support for Taliban Talks

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday said he supported Afghan efforts to seek peace with the Taliban as he visited Kabul for talks with President Hamid Karzai.

The one-day visit was Sharif's first since he took office in May and came as Karzai is locked in a public dispute with Washington over a security deal covering the role of U.S. soldiers who remain in Afghanistan after next year.

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