Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BRUSSELS (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says a decision about whether to keep foreign military troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is "serious business" and urged the government in Kabul to agree to it quickly.
In comments to reporters Tuesday, Kerry did not threaten to fully withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan if President Hamid Karzai continues to delay a decision.
The White House has urged Karzai to agree by the end of the year to a security pact for training Afghan forces or face no troops in Afghanistan after the combat mission ends in 2014.
Kerry didn't specify a deadline but said a quick decision is necessary to give the Afghan people confidence in its security and let the U.S. and NATO nations plan for supporting the new training mission.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
