KABUL – Afghan President Hamid Karzai discussed prospects of peace with the Taliban in a video phone conversation with US President Barack Obama, Karzai's office said on Tuesday. Obama speaks to Karzai less frequently than his predecessor, George W. Bush, and has not visited Afghanistan since being elected US president in 2008. "During the video call, Karzai put Obama in the picture about Afghanistan's efforts towards the acceleration of peace and national reconciliation, which America's president welcomed," the statement said. Karzai has launched a high profile effort this year to reach out for reconciliation with the Taliban, who have made a comeback more than eight years since their ousting by US-backed Afghan gunmen. Washington has so-far supported efforts to lure lower-and mid-level Taliban to lay down arms, but has been more guarded about efforts to reach out to their leaders, which it thinks is likely to be successful only after progress on the battlefield. Obama ordered an extra 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in December in a bid to turn the tide in the war. When they arrive by the end of this year, the number of US troops in Afghanistan will have tripled during Obama's time in office to 100,000, along with more than 40,000 from other NATO countries. Obama has pledged to begin a gradual withdrawal in mid-2011, setting up the next year as a decisive phase in the war. The statement from Karzai's office said both leaders had emphasised that Afghanistan and the international community should follow a "unified stance" on the question of talks. Karzai also said that Afghans did not want their territory to be used for "proxy wars" between other countries, a statement that could refer either to tensions between Pakistan and India or between the United States and Iran.
