Diplomatic sources at the United Nations say that the UN envoy to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, is planning to convene a meeting of Afghanistan`s ethnic groups in Berlin on Saturday. It is the first time a date and venue has been specified for the meeting, which is intended to be the first step towards the establishment of a broad-based transitional government for Afghanistan following the removal of the Taleban from power in Kabul. The sources say that Brahimi is expected to make a formal announcement to the UN Security Council later on Tuesday. Brahimi`s deputy, Francesc Vendrell, has so far held three days of talks in Kabul with key figures in the Northern Alliance and other tribal and faction leaders, seeking commitments that they will attend the meeting.
Although leaders of the Northern Alliance, which now controls much of Afghanistan, are yet to agree to attend, diplomats believe they will eventually go.
The international drive to build an interim administration gained momentum on Monday with the arrival in Afghanistan of Russian and British delegations.
The Russian team arrived in Kabul on Sunday, while British envoy Stephen Evans landed at Bagram airport near the capital on Monday. Bureau Report