The US decision to begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan would result in Kabul's government assuming "ultimately full Afghan leadership and ownership," dpa quoted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as saying Thursday. US President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday that the 33,000 US troops sent to Afghanistan as part of a surge would begin leaving that war-torn country, with the first 10,000 troops going home this year. There are currently more than 100,000 US troops in that country. "It is important that the United States, as well as the international community, remain committed to an enduring partnership with Afghanistan for both security and development," Ban said in a statement, reacting to Obama's announcement. "Turning the page on decades of war will be long and extremely challenging," Ban said. He called for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, based on an Afghan-led inclusive, political settlement among the parties, with international support.
