The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq has met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul.
U.S.
officials say General David Petraeus and Mr. Karzai discussed how to
combat regional terrorism, prevent civilian casualties and gain the
trust of the Afghan people during their meeting late Tuesday.
The
talks came shortly after Mr. Karzai told parliament that he can no
longer tolerate civilian deaths resulting from U.S. and NATO air
strikes.
Mr. Karzai said that although he supports efforts to
battle extremists in Afghanistan, the U.S. and its Western allies must
do more to reduce the risks to civilians.
Earlier Tuesday
General Petraeus was in Pakistan for meetings with Pakistani President
Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
General
Petraeus said they discussed ways to counter extremists who cross the
border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistani officials say they
also expressed concern about America's use of drones in the border
regions.
Petraeus also announced that the United States will
have the use of new supply routes to Afghanistan from Russia and
several Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
and Kyrgyzstan.
Petraeus is expected to fly back to the U.S. for
a meeting Wednesday with President Barack Obama and other top military
and defense officials.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.