Downing Street Says » Afghanistan

» Monday, September 7, 2009

Afghanistan

The PMS took the opportunity to remind people that the Prime Minister had made an important speech on the subject last week. He and Chancellor Merkel spoke last night about an Afghanistan conference, probably to be held by the end of the year. The Prime Minister was very keen on the international community taking forward Afghanisation and under the auspices of the UN we would see a very significant event post elections in Afghanistan.

Asked if there was any possibility of the Prime Minister setting up a War Cabinet, the PMS said that the Prime Minister held regular meetings with senior colleagues on the situation in Afghanistan. It was unlikely for those meetings to become a formal War Cabinet, but people could be rest assured that there was very regular attention being paid to Afghanistan.

Asked what the US attitude was to an international conference on Afghanistan, the PMS said that this was very early days but he was unaware of a formal announcement by the US.

Put that the UN had announced the conference on Friday and why had it turned into a German and British initiative, the PMS said that it was something the Prime Minister and Chancellor Merkel were very keen to talk about. The PMS added that it did not matter where the announcement was coming from; what mattered was that it was right to hold the conference.

Asked when the UK Government would comment on the fact that the majority of fake polling in the Afghan elections was done by Karzai s aides, the PMS said we were monitoring the situation closely, but people could take comfort in the fact that 6000 polling booths were opened during the election. There was an international body that was overseeing the election and the vote counting process.

It was a very important election for Afghanistan and the first organised by the Afghans themselves in 30 years.

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