WASHINGTON, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - US Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated the newly-elected Afghani President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah on their inauguration and hoped to deepen the US partnership with "unified and democratic Afghanistan," the statement, published on the US Department of State website Monday said.
"The United States looks forward to deepening its enduring partnership with a sovereign, unified and democratic Afghanistan," Kerry said in the statement.
US Secretary of State noted that he had known both politicians for many years and that both of them are "patriots, committed to the success of their country." Kerry also acknowledged the country's former president Hamid Karzai's contributions "to the cause of democracy, development and security," adding, however, that the US relationship with President Karzai "has been punctuated by disagreements."
On September 21, the State Election Commission of Afghanistan announced the final results of the presidential election, declaring former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the country's new president. Shortly before that, Ghani had signed a power-sharing agreement with his contender Abdullah Abdullah, according to which Abdullah got the newly-created position of chief executive, similar to the role of prime minister.
Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that the United States and Afghanistan may sign a deal on Tuesday, justifying the presence of the US troops on Afghanistan territory after the withdrawal of the most of the NATO forces by the end of 2014.
