Afghanistan's President: The meeting in Bonn is not a summit

The leaders of the G8 countries addressed all the participants of the Afghan political process, having urged them to set up a government of the “national unity.” The leaders of the G8 countries pointed out the favorable meaning of the negotiations pertaining to the establishment of a coalition government in Afghanistan (the talks start in Bonn) and stated that the new government is supposed to “provide for independent, territorial integrity of the country and for the peaceful coexistence of Afghanistan and the countries it borders.” At the same time, it was said that the foreign assistance to recreate the Afghanistan economy will “directly depend” on if Afghanistan executes the recommendations regarding the new government, Reuters informed.

Afghanistan President Rabbani claimed that he was not really hopeful as far as the negotiations in Bonn are concerned. “The meeting in Bonn is not a summit, it is the meeting between the spokesmen for the ethnic movements; the leaders of the political movements are not going to be present at them.” This can be understood. Those people who arrived in Bonn cannot conduct negotiations on behalf of all ethnic and political groups living on the territory of Afghanistan. Rabbani said that only Loya Jirga, the grand assembly of tribal chiefs and elders, could determine the future of the country.

The Northern Alliance controls up to 80% of the territory of Afghanistan. This may not be the most important argument, but a very significant one in any kind of negotiations. If the summit does not take this position of the Northern Alliance into consideration, (most likely, it is exactly what is going to happen), then the government of “national unity” will probably not be established at the summit at all. -dos-

Dmitry Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru

Reuters photo: Burhanuddin Rabbani, still officially the president of Afghanistan, says he would relinquish any claims to power if next week's talks in Germany succeed in naming a transitional leader