Obama urges Karzai's government to take more responsibility for security in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama, in a call with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on Monday night, urged Afghans to take more responsibility on their country's security, said the White House on Tuesday.

"President Obama underscored the need for more rapid development of the Afghan National Security Forces so that Afghans themselves can assume greater responsibility over the security of their country," said a White House statement.

"The President also emphasized that U.S. and international efforts in Afghanistan are not open ended and must be evaluated toward measurable and achievable goals within the next 18 to 24 months," said the statement.

Both Obama and Karzai have reaffirmed their commitment to "work closely together to ensure stability in Afghanistan and to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for terrorists."

The hour-long video teleconference took place just a day before President Obama unveils his new strategy for Afghanistan.

The president is expected to announce later Tuesday the deployment of up to 35,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and the acceleration of security responsibility transfer from U.S. forces to Afghans.

Obama ordered to send 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in March and U.S. troop levels there have since grown to 68,000. However, as the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates, Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has been calling for 40,000 more troops since August to quell the insurgency led by Taliban.