US President Barack Obama discussed the situation in the Islamic Republic and counter-terrorism issues with his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Afghanistan's chief executive officer Abdullah Abdullah during a telephone call.
"Obama encouraged accelerated Afghan progress towards forming an inclusive national unity government and expressed his expectation that their visit to Washington later this month will demonstrate our mutual commitment to a strengthened US-Afghan strategic partnership," RIA Novosti cited the statement of the White House.
The leaders discussed the ongoing efforts of the Afghan National Security Forces to improve security in Afghanistan and the importance of countering extremist threats from groups like al-Qaida, the statement added.
Obama commended President Ghani and Abdullah on their leadership in promoting an Afghan peace process to end the conflict in Afghanistan and their initiative to improve Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.
