White House refused draft because of issues of 'somewhere else', sources say

The Extended Troika Meeting on Afghanistan, attended by special envoys of China, the United States, Russia and Pakistan on Thursday, failed to issue a joint statement, Sputnik News reported on Saturday, quoting unidentified sources.

Sources told Sputnik News that the four sides had agreed on a draft joint statement. However after the meeting the White House wouldn't agree to issue a joint statement because of what has been done by one of the members of the extended Troika "somewhere else other than Afghanistan", the report quoted the sources as saying. All other members of the extended Troika expressed their disappointment and dissatisfaction, the report said.

The Extended Troika Meeting on Afghanistan was held in Tunxi, Anhui province on Thursday. Before the meeting, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a collective meeting with Special Envoy for Afghan Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China Yue Xiaoyong, Russian Special Presidential Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, the US State Department's Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West and the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Afghanistan Affairs of Pakistan Mohammad Sadiq.

At the meeting, the representatives reiterated their firm support for the Afghan people and stressed that more humanitarian assistance will be provided to Afghanistan. The four sides stressed that various terrorist forces entrenched in Afghanistan remain a threat to the security of the region, and called on relevant Afghan parties to take more visible measures to fulfill their counterterrorism commitment and dismantle and eliminate all types of terrorist groups. All sides are encouraged to work together to help Afghanistan improve its capacity for self-reliant development and achieve economic independence.