(VOVworld)- The US government showed signs of concession Wednesday, saying that the deadline for the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) on maintaining a US military presence in Afghanistan will be January, 2014, instead of the end of the year.
However, Josh Earnest, Principal Deputy Press Secretary warned that it is a big deal if the BSA is not signed soon. 47,000 US and 40,000 NATO soldiers currently serve in Afghanistan. A recent deal between Washington and Kabul allows 12,000 soldiers including 8,000 US soldiers to remain in Afghanistan after the withdrawal process to be completed by the end of 2014. The Afghan Grand Council, or the Loya Jirga, last month proposed the BSA to be signed this year.