President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has expressed his side stating that he will not attend the NATO summit to be held at Wales in September 4-5 due to a souring relationship with the United States.

The ties between Karzai and Washington started to turn south during Karzai's final term and he later on refused to sign a bilateral agreement between Afghanistan and the United States.

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The U.S. suggested forming a small alliance group which will be in charge of training and advising security forces in Afghanistan. When the consent of President was sought for, Karzai refused to sign the pact unless they met certain conditions.

Karzai listed ending operations in Afghan residential areas as one of the conditions. He also wanted to take peace-making actions with the Taliban and release the prisoners held captive at the Guantanamo prison.

The U.S. did not agree to Karzai's conditions, citing threat to public safety.

With the President's refusal to sign the pact, people in Afghanistan began to worry about their future. This situation presents a greater probability of a full pull-out of foreign troops by the end of the year.

Afghanistan's strong security force is around 350,000 and is largely financed by international donors. With the foreseen pull-out, donations will also likely be halted.

Two candidates for the seat or presidency agreed to sign the pact once seated on the presidential position. However, they are still locked up on the decision of the poll. This means it could take weeks before a new president is elected.

Kabul government officials confirmed that they will be sending someone to take over Karzai's seat in the summit but the person was not named yet.

TagsPresident Hamid Karzai., NATO Summit, Aimal Faizi, NATO countries, Afghanistan