KABUL - President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday hosted marathon talks between the two men vying to succeed him and urged them to reach a negotiated settlement to the electoral impasse.

A statement from the Presidential Palace said the outgoing president asked both Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah to reach a deal sooner than later.

Karzai’s both deputies attended the meeting, in which Karzai hoped the candidates would soon reach an accord to end the political uncertainty.

During the meeting, Karzai assured his full support to both the candidates on reaching an agreement acceptable to them.

The rival campaigns held last-ditch talks on Wednesday to salvage the US-brokered deal under which the two sides also agreed to accept the results of a UN-supervised vote audit.

Abdullah extended a Tuesday deadline to disengage from the political process to allow international efforts to rescue the first-ever peaceful transfer of power from one elected government to another.

The moves came after the Abdullah campaign said it would pull out of the process if its demands were not met by Tuesday and a powerful northern ally, Atta Mohammad Noor, threatened to launch mass protests which he called a "green and orange" movement.

The US State Department, in a statement on Tuesday, said Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Doug Frantz was in Kabul and would hold talks with Afghan leaders.

"He plans to convey the administration's full support for a peaceful and democratic transfer of power and emphasize the priority Secretary Kerry places on an audit process that ensures a legitimate outcome and agreement on the details of a government of national unity," it said.

Under the terms of the deal agreed during a visit by Kerry in July, the runner-up in the presidential election will appoint a chief executive to share control with the president over some major decisions, such as nominating the heads of the security forces. (Pajhwok)