Afghan President Hamid Karzai was set to leave for Washington on Sunday, a visit that is hoped will mend the strained relations between the two countries, dpa quoted the presidential palace as saying. "During his four-day trip, the president is expected to hold talks with President (Barack) Obama, Secretary of State, Hillary (Rodham) Clinton" and other US officials, Karzai's office said in a statement. The two sides would discuss "important issues including the strategic partnership between Afghanistan and the US, security and stability, reintegration, economic and agriculture development," it said. The relationship between the two countries has been strained this year, in the wake of a public spat triggered by Karzai's accusation that Western countries were interfering in Afghan affairs. Karzai has also accused UN and US officials of orchestrating a "vast fraud" in last year's presidential election, which returned him to power but severely tarnished his reputation at home and abroad. Obama officially invited Karzai to visit Washington during his short trip to Afghanistan in March. But the visit was nearly cancelled when Karzai allegedly told a group of Afghan parliamentarians that he would join the Taliban if the West continued to put pressure on him to wipe out the endemic corruption in his administration. However, both Karzai and US officials have recently seemed to try to improve their soured relations. -- SPA
