President Obama signaled Wednesday that despite his earlier hesitation he may embrace a plan by his counterpart from Afghanistan 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.

“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.