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A series of diplomatic sources say Afghanistan’s newly-elected president, Ashraf Ghani, was prepared to stop in Canada following his recent trip to Washington, but the Canadian government quietly backed away from the plan before it was finalized, the Canadian Press writes.

The visit would have taken place in the midst of the debate on extending the combat mission in Iraq.

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Here is the rest of the Canadian Press article:

Stephen Lecce, a spokesman for the prime minister’s office, denied anything official had been prepared for the new president who was elected following a closely fought campaign last year.

“No visit was scheduled, however we continue to engage with the Government of Afghanistan at all levels,” he said in an email.

A spokesman for Foreign Affairs, Nicolas Doire, also insisted no invitation was extended to the Afghan government.

But sources — in Ottawa, Washington and Kabul — tell The Canadian Press a plan for a two-day stopover was sketched out by the Canadian embassy in Kabul and the Afghan foreign ministry, and that Ghani had “responded positively” to the idea of a two-day trip for talks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.