15:10/10:04:2010

In a move aimed at patching up the differences, US President Barack Obama has written a personal letter to President Hamid Karzai, thanking him for his hospitality during his trip to Kabul some two weeks ago and pledged to work with him to achieve their common objective in this war-torn country .

Obamas letter diplomacy, an idea of his National Security Advisor, General James Jones, is seen as an effort on the part of the US to placate Karzai, who is considered as critical for the US-led campaign in Afghanistan .

President Karzai has recently accused foreigners of committing widespread fraud in last year's fraud-marred presidential and provincial council elections. Last week, Mr Karzai, pointing to the Taliban, said he and Taliban militants should free themselves from the "captivity" of foreigners.

"I think he (Karzai) has been a partner, but I think that he has his own domestic politics that he has to deal with," Obama told the ABC news in an interview Friday morning. "The fact is that real progress has been made, but, this is a country that went through 30 years of war. So part of President Karzai's challenge is he's got to bring his country along into a 21st century in which it is functioning and effective," he said .

In fact, Obama praised Karzai and said the Afghan President is committed in war against terrorism.

Earlier Jones told White House correspondents travelling with Obama on Air Force One on their way back from Prague that the letter was delivered to Karzai yesterday. "It was a very respectful letter," he said.

"I want to confirm that this was in fact exactly what it is: It was a thank you note and a pledge to continue our common efforts towards success in Afghanistan and a statement of support and willingness to work together. There was absolutely no reference to anything else," Jones said in response to a question .

The White House had previously said President Karzai's recent comments were troubling and confusing to Washington and warned to call of his May visit to the White House unless he puts an end to such controversial remarks.

General Jones said Karzai and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a clarifying conversation last week. "We have consistently said since the elections that President Karzai is our strategic partner. We have a huge amount of work to do in terms of bringing all these pieces of our strategy together so they function in a cohesive way," he said. (PAN)