24 August: The Uzbek President Islam Karimov will not attend the CIS Jubilee summit to take place in Dushambe next week. Earlier Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev also announced that he will not be attending (Trend)

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.