Obama: U.S. ‘will not be deterred’ by killing of Afghan leader

President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged Tuesday that the assassination of the head of the Afghanistan High Peace Council would not stop them from working toward a peaceful resolution to conflict in that country.

But the death of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani cast a dark shadow over the talks in New York, where Obama and Karzai were meeting for the first time since the U.S. announced its schedule for withdrawing military troops from Afghanistan.

The meeting took place in the aftermath of what is believed to be a suicide attack on Rabbani, who had been working to negotiate an end to the ongoing war with the Taliban.

In somber public remarks before the private meeting on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly, Obama called Rabbani a man who “cared very deeply about Afghanistan” and promised that he and Karzai will remain committed to the goals of peace and stability.

“We both believe that, despite this incident, we will not be deterred from creating a path whereby Afghans can live in freedom, safety, security and prosperity,” Obama said, seated next to Karzai in a meeting room of a Manhattan hotel.

Karzai called Rabbani “an Afghan patriot who sacrificed his life,” and echoed Obama’s words about their shared goals.

“This will not deter us from continuing down the path we have started,” Karzai said.

U.S. officials said they do not know if the attack on Rabbani was intended to coincide with Karzai’s visit to the U.N., but the timing had an immediate effect on the talks between the leaders. Karzai is curtailing his visit to New York and returning home.