US to leave 5500 soldiers in Afghanistan

US President Barack Obama stated today that he will freeze the plan for the 2016 withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and will keep about 5.5 thousand soldiers after the end of next year due to the "fragile" situation in the country.

He stressed that about 9.8 thousand soldiers, which were planned to be withdrawn at the beginning of the year, will be present in the country for the large part of next year.

According to him, the Afghan forces are still not as strong as they should be: "The situation in Afghanistan is fragile, there is a risk of deterioration," RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.