By Xinhua,
Ankara : Turkey on Friday hosted a trilateral summit meeting with Afghanistan and Pakistan in a bid to bring the two troubled neighboring countries closer.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul chaired the meeting with his counterparts, Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, in the Turkish largest city of Istanbul, which was also attended by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the semi-official Anatolia news agency.
The meeting, aimed at easing tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, is the second round of talks in a move to bring the two neighbors closer, said the report, adding bilateral relations, further coordination and economic cooperation between the countries also topped Friday’s agenda.
The first summit was held in the Turkish capital city of Ankarain April last year, which enabled Karzai and then Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to discuss stepping up joint efforts for regional security.
Earlier on Friday, U.S. President George W. Bush thanked Gul over phone for his efforts to promote greater cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pakistan’s northwestern tribal regions became a stronghold for hundreds of Taliban militants who fled Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the hardline Taliban regime in late 2001.
The United States and Afghanistan have long accused Pakistan of failing to take action against Taliban militants and even colluding with them.
Islamabad rejects the accusation and has mounted military operations against militants in the region.
Karzai has recently forged a closer relationship of cooperation with Pakistan’s new president Zardari than with former president Musharraf, especially in dealing with cross-border infiltration of fighters and equipment.
Drawing on its traditionally close ties with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, NATO member Turkey has pushed for better ties between the two countries.
Turkey has 860 soldiers as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan fighting a rising Taliban insurgency alongside the U.S.-led coalition troops and Afghan forces.
Karzai and Zardari arrived in Istanbul late Thursday for the summit.