Turkey wants Pakistan, Afghan summit to reduce mistrust
ISTANBUL: Turkey hopes talks it is hosting between the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul on Tuesday will reduce their deep mutual mistrust and begin a new period of cooperation between the two neighbours.
One Turkish official, saying that the regional environment is deteriorating, added: "Now is perhaps the time to try to reverse the course."
"We sense that they have a genuine wish to talk to each other because they realise this trend is not helping either of them," the official said, speaking on the eve of Tuesday's summit between Presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Asif Zardari of Pakistan and Abdullah Gul of Turkey.
Karzai, underlining Afghan suspicions that Islamabad is backing the Taliban, has said that any negotiations he has should be with Pakistan.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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