Washington - President Obama signaled Wednesday that, despite his earlier hesitation, he may embrace a plan by his Afghan counterpart to reconcile with certain Taliban leaders in hopes of uniting the country and ending a conflict that has stretched nearly nine years.

Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, speaking to reporters at a joint White House news conference, downplayed grievances that had flared into public view in recent months, straining the partnership between the two governments.

"With respect to perceived tensions between the U.S. government and the Afghan government, let me begin by saying a lot of them were simply overstated," Obama said in the East Room of the White House, with Karzai standing to his right in a purple and green striped robe.

But they said tensions were bound to recur and that difficult work remained in addressing one another's concerns, such as corruption in the Afghan government and civilian casualties resulting from U.S.-led military action.

Only last month, Karzai warned he might join the Taliban insurgency rather than yield to foreign pressure to reform his government. Karzai also accused western powers of rigging elections and morphing into an invading force.

But after two days of meetings in Washington and a session with Obama in the Oval Office, Karzai seemed determined to set aside suspicions. In his remarks, Karzai said he was committed to helping the White House meet its goals: Defeating extremists, ridding his government of corruption, and setting up a viable security force that can step in once the U.S. starts withdrawing troops in July 2011.

But Karzai also is looking for Obama to endorse a peace plan that carries a politically risky element: Reconciling with some of the Taliban's leaders. To date, the administration has been cool to the idea.

At the news conference, Obama showed he was open to the plan - a significant step for an administration that has been divided internally over the issue.

"What we've said is that so long as there's a respect for the Afghan constitution, rule of law, human rights; so long as they are willing to renounce violence and ties to al-Qaida and other extremist networks; that President Karzai should be able to work to reintegrate those individuals into Afghan society," Obama said.

The president added an important caveat. To maximize leverage in such negotiations, the coalition needs more success in routing the Taliban, he said.

"One of the things I emphasized to President Karzai, however, is, that the incentives for the Taliban to lay down arms, or at least portions of the Taliban to lay down arms, and make peace with the Afghan government in part depends on our effectiveness in breaking their momentum militarily," Obama said.

A senior Obama administration official later elaborated. "The meetings the last couple days have enabled us to reach a good understanding of how the reconciliation process will proceed and we are fully supportive of Karzai's efforts going forward," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

When he returns home, Karzai can tell Afghans he scored diplomatic victories.