MOSCOW, September 22 (RIA Novosti) – The United States is hoping a bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan will be signed before the end of the month, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.
The power-sharing deal signed between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, rivals in the 2014 Afghan presidential elections, "offers a huge opportunity for progress in Afghanistan" and for signing of the bilateral security agreement between the US and Afghanistan "in a week or so," John Kerry said in a statement released Sunday.
The agreement should determine the number of American soldiers that will remain in Afghanistan after most foreign troops withdraw at the end of the year. Foreign special forces personnel will help to conduct "counter-terror operations," as well as train Afghan troops. However, the number of US troops will be significantly reduced before the end of the year.
The power-sharing deal between the political rivals – former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah – to form a new unity government was signed on Sunday, breaking months of political deadlock. Under the unity deal, Ghani becomes president, while runner-up Abdullah Abdullah becomes a "chief executive officer" with powers similar to those of prime minister.
About 41,000 NATO troops remain in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban insurgency alongside Afghan soldiers and police. NATO's combat mission will end in December, with a follow-on force of about 12,000 troops likely to stay into 2015 on training and support duties.
