KABUL — With negotiations over terms for some U.S. forces to remain in Afghanistan after next year at an impasse, Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to the Afghan capital Friday to bargain directly with Afghan President
KABUL — With negotiations over terms for some U.S. forces to remain in Afghanistan after next year at an impasse, Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to the Afghan capital Friday to bargain directly with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Kerry, who has a long relationship with the Afghan leader, is trying to help bridge the last sticking points that have prevented the two countries from reaching a deal, State Department officials traveling with Kerry said.
Talks are expected to continue after Kerry’s visit, but he will stress the need to secure a deal by the end of this month, officials said.
Talks on a security agreement are stalled over long-standing Afghan demands for greater control and access to U.S. intelligence and U.S. insistence that remaining forces not be subject to Afghan law.
The “bilateral security agreement” is supposed to assure Afghans of an ongoing U.S. commitment and to protect the estimated 5,000 to 10,000 U.S. forces expected to carry out training and counterterrorism missions after the NATO-led international mission ends in 2014.
Karzai has recently denounced U.S. demands as unreasonable, and appeared ready to walk out on talks. President Barack Obama and Karzai agreed months ago to try to complete the deal by Oct. 31.
