The US government says the inauguration ceremony of recently re-elected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been postponed. Afghan media say the ceremony was originally scheduled for Thursday.

US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said on Tuesday that the inauguration was postponed to give Afghans adequate time to agree on matters related to the establishment of a national framework for peace.

Reuters news agency says the US wanted Ghani to defer his inauguration out of concern that disagreements over the outcome of the presidential election would threaten peace talks with the Taliban.

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission announced on February 18 that Ghani had won the presidential election held in September.

But Ghani's main rival, Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, has rejected the results, saying the election was rigged.

The US government and the Taliban agreed on a seven-day reduction in violence. If the deal holds, they will sign a peace agreement on Saturday.

NHK