Afghan President Hamid Karzai says Afghanistan will allow the United States to keep nine military bases in the country after the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops at the end of next year. For months, U.S. and Afghan leaders have been holding secret talks about the future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Karzai made the remarks in a speech at Kabul University Thursday.

President Hamid Karzai: “They want nine bases all over Afghanistan, including Kabul, Bagram, Mazar, Jalalabad, Gardez, Kandahar, Helmand, Shindand and Herat, and we agreed to give them these bases. Our conditions are that the U.S. should guarantee to bring security in our country and support Afghanistan’s forces, as well as build up our economic infrastructure.”

In a statement, the U.S. embassy in Kabul said the United States is not seeking permanent military bases in Afghanistan, but instead hopes to use Afghan facilities.