Hamid Karzai has called on the US to restart peace talks with the Taliban or put at risk a new security agreement.

The Afghan president said talks with the Taliban were critical to ensure Afghanistan was not left with weak government.

Without them, it is unlikely Karzai will sign a new security agreement with Washington to allow for a residual US presence in Afghanistan after the scheduled pull-out this year.

He said: "We want to be confident that after the signing of the security agreement, Afghanistan will not be divided into fiefdoms."