UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement to start the drawdown of American forces in Afghanistan as of July 2011. "The UN views this decision as the beginning of a transition to greater responsibilities of the Afghan Government and ultimately to full Afghan leadership and ownership," Ban said in a statement. The UN chief urged the United States and the international community to remain committed to an enduring partnership with Afghanistan for both security and development reasons. "Turning the page on decades of war will be long and extremely challenging," Ban said, and noted that "a peaceful and stable Afghanistan must be based on an Afghan-led and internationally supported political settlement between all Afghans who break from terrorism, abandon violence and abide by the Afghan Constitution." The secretary-general called for an all-inclusive political process to restore peace and open again the opportunities to normal life and prosperity for Afghan men, women and children. As was mandated by the Security Council, the UN will continue to provide all necessary assistance to the Afghan people and their Afghan government, Ban added. Obama announced Wednesday that 10,000 U.S. troops would leave Afghanistan by the end of this year and another 23,000 would go home by next summer.