KABUL -  NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says President Hamid Karzai’s public statements on the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States amount to playing with fire.

“Personally, I have an excellent relationship with Karzai. But I also have to say that (making) such statements is something like playing with fire,” he said in an interview with the BBC News Night on Monday.

The damaging effect of such statements on public and political support for a NATO presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014 should not be underestimated. We have invested a lot in blood and treasure in Afghanistan...” he argued.

He warned failure to ensure an international presence in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 withdrawal of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops could spark a security crisis in the country.

Rasmussen said a lack of foreign troops would make it difficult to generate the financial resources needed to sustain Afghan security forces. He believed Karzai would not sign the agreement during his remaining months in office. (Pajhwok)