May 10, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 7, 1424

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KABUL, May 9: US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage visited Kabul on Friday on the second leg of an Asian tour to stress that events in Iraq will not distract Washington from its responsibilities in Afghanistan.

Mr Armitage said Washington did not support an appeal by the U.N. special representative to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, for international peacekeepers to be deployed outside Kabul.

But, in response to a question, he said US combat troops would not leave the country until the Afghan government and its people felt secure.

Last week, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld paid a one-day visit to Kabul and said US-led forces in the country had moved from major combat operations to a period of stabilization and reconstruction.

“President Bush has asked me to come to Afghanistan shortly following Secretary Rumsfeld’s visit to dramatically make the point the United States, although we may be occupied at present in Iraq, is not going to forget our responsibilities here in Afghanistan,” Mr Armitage said.—Reuters