Afghanistan's foreign minister has approached his Israeli counterpart, expressing interest in normalizing relations between the two countries, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official said Monday.
The Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said the Afghan foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, informed Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom that Afghanistan was interested in working together with all "peace-loving countries".
The two countries have never had diplomatic relations, but in informal talks in Kazakhstan last June, interim Afghan President Hamid Karzai told then-Israeli Housing Minister Natan Sharansky that a formal dialogue could get under way after Afghan elections, which the international community wants to see held next year, AP reported.
At the Kazakhstan meeting, Karzai told Sharansky he supported Israel's battle against "terror" groups, a Sharansky aide said at the time. (Albawaba.com)
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