KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Preparations are underway to secure a key meeting of Afghan tribal elders that will advise the nation's president on whether to sign a long-foundering security deal with the United States, an official said Thursday.
President Hamid Karzai has called the meeting known as Loya Jirga, or council of Afghan elders for next month to discuss the state of the agreement after negotiations stumbled despite one year of talks. The U.S. wants a deal in October.
Karzai has ruled out signing the U.S.-Afghan deal until disagreements over sovereignty issues are resolved, but it remains doubtful any agreement will have been reached in a month's time.
If no deal is signed, the U.S. will keep no military forces in Afghanistan after 2014.
Meawhile, security preparations were underway.