WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that the United States and Afghanistan had completed a bilateral security agreement that will be submitted to a grand council of elders in Kabul the next day, but he stated emphatically that there had been no discussion of an American apology to President Hamid Karzai or to his nation as part of the deal.
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Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at a news conference at the State Department on Wednesday.
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“President Karzai didn’t ask for an apology. There was no discussion of an apology,” Mr. Kerry said. “I mean, it’s just not even on the table.”

Mr. Kerry’s comments appeared to contradict statements from Afghan officials, including Mr. Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi, who said on Tuesday that Mr. Karzai would drop his opposition to future American counterterrorism raids on private homes in return for a letter by President Obama acknowledging military mistakes that have hurt Afghans and promising that they would not be repeated.

In interviews, Mr. Faizi emphasized that Mr. Karzai’s approval of the final wording about American home raids — the last remaining holdup to a long-term security agreement, according to Afghan and American officials — was contingent upon receiving such a message from Mr. Obama.

And while Mr. Faizi did not use the word “apology,” it was clear that Mr. Karzai was seeking some demonstration of contrition or regret, at the least. The difference in perception may explain an apparent gap between the Afghan expression and Mr. Kerry’s comments.

There was no immediate confirmation Wednesday night from Afghan officials about agreement on the wording of the security deal, which is to approve a framework for a lasting American military presence in Afghanistan past the 2014 troop withdrawal deadline.

The agreement itself would not establish a final troop number. That is still to come from the Obama administration, and is expected to be a force of between 8,000 and 12,000 personnel to train, advise and assist Afghan forces. There would be no direct combat role for most of those troops — only for the much smaller counterterrorism force envisioned by American and NATO planners.

The Afghans have made final approval of a bilateral security agreement subject to an Afghan grand council of elders, a loya jirga, that is to begin meeting on Thursday. And though Mr. Kerry said Wednesday that the final language of the proposed deal was now ready for consideration after passing muster with senior Afghan and American negotiators, aspects of the security deal were likely to be unpopular with the Afghan public.