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| President Obama refused to meet his Pakistani counterpart |
President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan was snubbed by Barack Obama at the Nato
summit over a refusal to back down on demands that troops pay £3,000 for
every lorry crossing the border into Pakistan, it has been claimed.
Tensions between the US and Pakistan
have been running high following several incidents, including the US raid in
Pakistan that led to the death of Osama bin Laden and a US air strike that
killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers.
Both countries have been seeking to restore normal relations.
Pakistan closed the roads nearly six months ago in protest of an errant Nato
air strike that killed Pakistani soldiers. The two nations are now haggling
over the price the alliance will pay, with Pakistan demanding many times
more per truck than they were paid a year ago, US officials said.
President Zardari was a last-minute addition to the list of leaders at the
summit in President Obama's hometown. But it remains unclear if he will
agree to reopen routes to Nato traffic.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, met President Zardari to discuss
efforts to reopen major roads used to supply Nato fighting forces in
Afghanistan.
But President Obama refused to meet his Pakistani counterpart, with one US official telling The Times: "Patience with Pakistan is wearing thin, not just in the US but also in the Nato alliance."
The official added that they were still expecting the "log jam of Nato convoys in Pakistan after this weekend", forcing the US to use alternative routes – namely through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
White House officials said no deal was in place to reopen the supply lines but they cited "positive" signs in the ongoing discussions. "We believe we're moving in the right trajectory," said Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes.
Nato leaders will endorse plans to hand over combat command in Afghanistan by mid-2013 today and seek practical progress in opening routes to bring an international army of more than 130,000 back home from an unpopular, resource-draining war.
The strategy for a gradual exit from Afghanistan is aimed at holding together the multinational force and maintaining security in spite of France's decision to withdraw its troops earlier than scheduled.
Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, the senior Turkish foreign ministry official responsible for Nato, said Pakistan would be a key route out for Western forces.
"Countries in the region should also help our efforts for taking people back, together with the materials and other equipment," he told Reuters. "It's a big challenge ... and this is a new dimension people are focusing on now – how to take them safe and secure back home."
challenge ... and this is a new dimension people are focusing on now – how to take them safe and secure back home."
The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, said he was confident a deal would eventually be struck, but "whether it's in days or weeks, I don't know."
But President Obama refused to meet his Pakistani counterpart, with one US official telling The Times: "Patience with Pakistan is wearing thin, not just in the US but also in the Nato alliance."
The official added that they were still expecting the "log jam of Nato convoys in Pakistan after this weekend", forcing the US to use alternative routes – namely through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
White House officials said no deal was in place to reopen the supply lines but they cited "positive" signs in the ongoing discussions. "We believe we're moving in the right trajectory," said Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes.
Nato leaders will endorse plans to hand over combat command in Afghanistan by mid-2013 today and seek practical progress in opening routes to bring an international army of more than 130,000 back home from an unpopular, resource-draining war.
The strategy for a gradual exit from Afghanistan is aimed at holding together the multinational force and maintaining security in spite of France's decision to withdraw its troops earlier than scheduled.
Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, the senior Turkish foreign ministry official responsible for Nato, said Pakistan would be a key route out for Western forces.
"Countries in the region should also help our efforts for taking people back, together with the materials and other equipment," he told Reuters. "It's a big challenge ... and this is a new dimension people are focusing on now – how to take them safe and secure back home."
challenge ... and this is a new dimension people are focusing on now – how to take them safe and secure back home."
The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, said he was confident a deal would eventually be struck, but "whether it's in days or weeks, I don't know."
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