RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes are dealing with an unspecified injury to goaltender Frederik Andersen that could keep him out for an extended period.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour said Saturday that surgery is a possibility. He also said the hope was he would be “week to week” but that it was positioned to be “way longer.” Brind’Amour added that Andersen’s absence has nothing to do with the blood-clotting condition that sidelined him for much of the regular season last year.
Andersen hasn’t played since Oct. 26.
Carolina is also without goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, who left Wednesday night’s game at Utah with a minor ailment. The Hurricanes called up Yaniv Perets, who served as backup to Spencer Martin on Saturday night against the Ottawa Senators.
The Hurricanes also announced earlier Saturday that forward Seth Jarvis has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Sunday with an upper-body injury. He had four goals and seven assists across the first 10 games.
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Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) leaves the ice during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) is assisted after being scored against the Utah Hockey Club during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Afghanistan's neighbors met in Iran and agreed to deepen regional coordination to address political, economic and security challenges, as well as calling for sanctions on Afghanistan to be lifted. The only absent party? Afghanistan itself.
China, Pakistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan all joined the talks organized by Iran, as did Russia, according to a statement released after the meeting on Sunday.
Afghanistan was invited but decided not to attend. Its Taliban-led government was tight-lipped on the reasons, with the foreign ministry saying only that it would not participate because Afghanistan “currently maintains active engagement with regional countries through existing regional organizations and formats, and has made good progress in this regard.”
The statement from the talks in Iran stressed the importance of maintaining economic and trade ties with Afghanistan to improve living conditions and called for the country’s integration into regional political and economic processes.
The Taliban were isolated after they retook power in Afghanistan in August 2021, but in the past year, they have developed diplomatic ties. They now raise several billion dollars every year in tax revenues to keep the lights on.
However, Afghanistan is still struggling economically. Millions rely on aid for survival, and the struggling economy has been further impacted by the international community not recognizing the Taliban government's seizure of power in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops in 2021. Natural disasters and the flow of Afghans fleeing Pakistan under pressure to return home have underlined Afghanistan’s reliance on foreign aid to meet essential needs.
The countries at the talks also voiced security concerns and pledged cooperation in combating terrorism, drug trafficking and human smuggling, while opposing any foreign military presence in Afghanistan. They underscored the responsibility of the international community to lift sanctions and release Afghanistan’s frozen assets, and urged international organizations to support the dignified return of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries.
The participants backed efforts to reduce tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have been particularly strained, with border clashes between the two sides killing dozens of civilians, soldiers and suspected militants and wounding hundreds more.
The violence followed explosions in Kabul on Oct. 9 that Afghan authorities blamed on Pakistan. A Qatar-mediated ceasefire has largely held since October, although there have been limited border clashes. The two sides failed to reach an overall agreement in November despite three rounds of peace talks.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special representative for Afghanistan, said the Taliban government’s decision to skip the meeting reflected a “lack of political maturity.” Writing on X, Durrani said the move reinforced concerns that the Taliban were unwilling to negotiate, instead adopting an “I don’t accept” stance that he said would do little to resolve serious regional problems.
Mohammad Sadiq, the current Pakistani special representative for Afghanistan who attended the talks, wrote on X that the Afghan people had already suffered enough and deserved better.
Only an Afghanistan that does not harbor militants would inspire confidence among neighboring and regional countries to engage meaningfully with Kabul and help unlock the country’s economic and connectivity potential, he wrote.
Participants agreed to hold the next meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries as soon as possible in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and welcomed Pakistan’s offer to host the next round of special envoys’ talks in Islamabad in March.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, on Sunday said that the meeting had not been held for about two years and marked the first such gathering attended by special envoys on Afghanistan from neighboring countries as well as Russia. Russia and Uzbekistan sent the special envoys of their presidents, while Pakistan was represented by a delegate from the prime minister’s office.
Landlocked Afghanistan is sandwiched between the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia, making it strategically located for energy-rich and energy-hungry nations.
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Associated Press journalists Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Elena Becatoros in Athens and Abdul Qahar Afghan in Kabul, Afghanistan contributed to this report.
FILE - Boys stay on a hilltop overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan, Feb. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
