WASHINGTON (AFP) - Afghanistans President Hamid Karzai questioned the reliability of the United States as a partner Sunday, as he fought off criticism of his governments legitimacy following fraud-marred elections. Karzais main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, warned in an interview with CNN that the US strategy will not succeed without a credible partner in Kabul, blaming Karzai for deteriorating conditions. But underscoring the political headache that Washington faces if Karzai wins a run-off against Abdullah next month, Karzai pointed the finger at the United States in a separate, pre-recorded CNN interview. Is the United States a reliable partner with Afghanistan? Is the West a reliable partner with Afghanistan? Karzai asked. Have we received the commitments that we were given? Have we been treated like a partner? Karzai said a partnership to him was where the Afghan lives are respected, where Afghan property is respected, where the Afghan traditions are respected, where we know the direction we are moving to. The comments appeared to allude to Karzais longstanding criticism of civilian deaths in US airstrikes, and to US President Barack Obamas still unresolved review of US strategy and his commanders request for up to 40,000 more US troops. Karzai said charges of election fraud had been blown out of proportion. There were some mistakes, there were some incidents of fraud, he said. But he maintained that the election as a whole was clean, and as a result was clear. He said now that a November 7 runoff vote has been scheduled, whatever happens, this election must present a clear result and that result must be respected. Meanwhile, leading US lawmakers said Sunday it remains an open question whether a new Karzai administration can help put Afghanistan on the road to greater stability. Democratic Senator Ben Nelson said the US administration will have no choice but to work with a re-elected Karzai government, to root out all that corruption and help them bring about an efficient government in the delivery of the services to the people, as well as the security.