(Voice of America) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he wants the United States to provide $2 billion a year to fund Afghan security forces once international combat troops leave the country in 2014.

President Karzai said Tuesday a U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership agreement that is being negotiated should include a written guarantee that Washington will provide at least US $2 billion annually for Afghan security personnel. U.S. officials say they could pay up to about $4 billion a year to fund Afghan forces, but they also say the strategic pact is not meant to be a detailed aid package but a broader framework of how the two countries will work together in the future.