Global General

Special

Newsmaker

Asia Pacific

America

Middle East

Europe

Africa

France expresses full support for Karzai

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-03 19:59

PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed on Monday France's full support to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was assured of the final victory earlier in the day in the troubled presidential election in the Central Asian nation.

"I assure you (Karzai) the full support of France to you and your government," said Sarkozy in a congratulatory letter to Karzai.

Related readings:  Karzai declared Afghan president  Afghan run-off canceled with Karzai winning  Afghan gov't shuts down schools to check flu outbreak  Afghan challenger drops out of runoff election  Abdullah plans runoff boycott to delay Afghan vote

France will help Afghanistan reconstruct the democratic institution, to eliminate violence, to improve security, economic and social situation, he promised.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also expressed congratulations for Karzai's re-election at a joint press conference in Paris with visiting German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

Kouchner called on Karzai to cooperate with his arch-rival Abdullah Abdullah to establish a united government.

Westerwelle urged Karzai to make efforts to reunite the different camps and "try to be the president of all Afghans," adding that Germany will stick by the Afghan people.

Afghanistan's election body, the Independent Election Commission (IEC), on Monday announced incumbent president Karzai as the winner of the presidential election after it decided to scrap a planned Nov. 7 run-off ballot.

The announcement made by IEC's chief Azizullah Ludin just a day after the withdrawal of Karzai's top challenger Abdullah Abdullah from the race in a runoff in protest against what he described "biased stance of IEC's chief" and demanded his sacking, a condition utterly rejected by Karzai.