Agreement, at last

摘要

After more than a year of talks and 23 drafts, Afghanistan and the United States have finalised an agreement governing the next phase of their tempestuous relations. The so-called strategic partnership agreement (spa) outlines how America will stand by Afghanistan after 2014, when most nato troops are due to pull out, handing over the country's security to Afghans. Presidents Hamid Karzai and Ba-rack Obama (pictured above, in 2010) have yet to sign the agreement, and it remains subject to review. But both sides hailed the initialling of a provisional draft on April 22nd as a big step forward.