KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. military signed a last-minute agreement today to transfer its main detention center in the country to Afghan control in six months — a key step toward a longterm pact on U. S. military presence in Afghanistan.

The deal removes a sticking point that had threatened to derail talks between the two countries for a long- term partnership that is critical to defining the U. S. role as it draws down troops here.

Today’s agreement extends a deadline set by Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the transfer of some 3,000 Afghan detainees at the Parwan facility, a U.S.-run prison adjoining its Bagram military base outside the capital Kabul, but also for the first time spells out an American commitment to a hard transfer date.

Under the deal, the U.S. will still have access to Parwan and will be able to block the release of detainees it thinks should continue to be held.