KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai will not attend a key NATO summit next week because of his disagreements with Washington over Afghan security needs after most foreign troops leave his country at the end of 2014, his spokesman said on Tuesday.
The Sept. 4-5 summit in Wales is meant to determine how much aid Afghan security forces will get after NATO's combat mission ends. The alliance wants a smaller force to stay beyond 2014 to train and advise the security forces but it needs the Kabul government's consent -- something Karzai has refused to give.