November 27, 2001	Tuesday	Ramazan 11, 1422

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ABU DHABI, Nov 26: The chief of the Northern Alliance, Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, played down hopes on Monday that a meeting of Afghan factions in Germany would yield an agreement over the political future of Afghanistan.

“This (Bonn) meeting is not a summit council,” Prof Rabbani said a day before the UN-sponsored talks.

“It is a summit of representatives. There are no leaders of parties in Afghanistan,” he told Abu Dhabi satellite television during a surprise visit to the United Arab Emirates, one of only three states that had diplomatic relations with the Taliban.

“The main councils and meetings will take place inside Afghanistan and senior officials must participate to take the main decisions,” he added.

Besides, Prof Rabbani held talks with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum on the situation in Afghanistan, the official WAM news agency reported.

The talks started late Sunday, shortly after the arrival of Prof Rabbani and his delegation in Dubai on a “short visit” to the UAE, WAM said.

Prof Rabbani and Sheikh Mohammad’s discussions focused on the “latest political and military developments in Afghanistan as well as the political future of Afghanistan in light of the inter-Afghan conference.”—Agencies