The United States wants Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to defer his second-term inauguration over concerns it could inflame an election feud with his political rival and jeopardize US-led peacemaking efforts, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Ghani claimed victory last week in a disputed Sept. 28 election and plans to take the oath of office on Thursday, an Afghan official said. His opponent, the CEO, Abdullah Abdullah, also proclaimed himself the winner and is planning a parallel inauguration.

The U.S.-Taliban agreement is to be followed by inter-Afghan talks on a political settlement to end decades of war.

But the Ghani-Abdullah feud threatens to further complicate the naming of a delegation to negotiate with the insurgents, a process already mired in delays and disputes.

A source familiar with the matter said that because of those concerns, US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been in Kabul since last week, wants Ghani to delay his planned inauguration to a second five-year term.

The U.S. State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Afghan Embassy in Washington declined comment

A former senior Afghan official said Khalilzad, an Afghan-born veteran US diplomat, was pressing Ghani to postpone the ceremony and trying to persuade Abdullah to do the same to preserve the peace process.

The sources requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The former senior Afghan official said that even if there was an “inclusive” delegation chosen to talk with the Taliban, the Ghani-Abdullah feud could “spill into the negotiating process.”