WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the U.S. will keep just under 10,000 troops in Afghanistan through the end of 2015 at the request of Afghanistan's new president, Ashraf Ghani.

Obama says Afghanistan "remains a dangerous place" and it's important to maintain security cooperation between the two countries.

Obama had planned to cut the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about 5,500 by the end of the year.

He says a new government in Afghanistan opens a new chapter in relations between the two countries.

Obama spoke Tuesday at the White House following his first Oval Office meeting with Ghani.