UN says hopes for peace in Afghanistan are well founded

Afghanistan has a better chance of finding peace than it has for many years, with more coordination in international peace efforts and willingness to include all parties, the top U.N. humanitarian official in the country said on Friday.

"There are new-found opportunities in Afghanistan and there are very well founded hopes for peace. It sounds like a paradox but there are better opportunities today than there have been in many, many, many years," U.N. resident coordinator Toby Lanzer told reporters in Geneva.