Karzai was returned to power after election officials cancelled a needless run-off vote that was to be held on Nov. 7. A UN-backed probe had earlier invalidated tens of thousands of his votes from the Aug. 20 ballot. World leaders have since congratulated Karzai on his win, but the fraud-marred poll has hurt his reputation among Western countries that have nearly 110,000 troops defending his government from a growing Taliban insurgency.Earlier this month, Ankara congratulated Karzai on his re-election, with the Foreign Ministry expressing hope to see that those groups who opposed Karzai in the elections will support the new administration. Ahead of the inauguration, Davutoğlu attended a breakfast meeting hosted by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for foreign ministers of the countries which have supported the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Davutoğlu was scheduled to visit the Kabul Regional Command later in the day. Turkey had already been supporting ISAF with around 800 non-combat troops in Afghanistan, but gradually increased this number to 1,600 after assuming the Kabul Regional Command’s rotating leadership. Turkey has constantly voiced its determination to refrain from sending any combat troops to Afghanistan.
