Brussels / Rome, 22/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - EU Council President Louis Michel is to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan in New York on Tuesday with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his special representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi. Previously, the Belgian Foreign Minister is to meet representatives of EU Member states to the United Nations.
The future of Afghanistan was broached on Sunday in Rome by the High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana and the former King of Afghanistan Zaher Shah (who has been in exile in Rome since 1973). Sources close to Mr. Solana say that the former king shares the EU's objectives as set out at the informal Summit of Ghent (notably the formation of a governments representative of all ethnic components and with good neighbourly relations with all neighbouring countries). According to AFP, the talks (which lasted over an hour) with the former monarch did not relate to details concerning the coalition that could replace the Taliban regime, with participation by the Northern Alliance.