U.S. diplomat meets Afghan FM for security pact

KABUL, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul met Saturday here and discussed the details of the proposed security pact between the two countries, a joint statement released at the end of the meeting said.

"In the meeting, both sides reviewed progress in implementing the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA)'s shared vision of a secure, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan and discussed steps to strengthen our enduring partnership as sovereign nations," the statement added.

The Strategic Partnership Agreement between Afghanistan and the United States was inked by President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai in May 2, 2012 here in Kabul.

If the proposed security pact was signed it would allow limited number of U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after the 2014 pullout of NATO-led troops from the conflict-ridden country.

President Hamid Karzai revealed on Thursday that the United States wants to have nine military bases in Afghanistan after 2014. However, the White House Press Secretary Jay Carney in a sharp reaction, according to media reports, refuted the claim, saying the United States has no intention to have permanent military presence in Afghanistan.

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