WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — The White House is seeking clarification from Afghan President Hamid Karzai about his comments in which accused Western powers and the U.N. of interfering in last year’s presidential election.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Friday that Karzai’s comments are “genuinely troubling.”

Karzai said on Thursday that the West “want parliament to be weakened and battered and for me to be an ineffective president, and for parliament to be ineffective.”

President Barack Obama paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan Sunday, his first trip as president.

(Copyright 2010 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without explicit prior permission from BNO News B.V. Contact sales@bnonews.com for more information about subscriptions.)