President Ghani’s office announced in a statement that the U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense met with President Ashraf Ghani at Presidential Palace to discuss U.S. military support to Afghanistan’s Security and Defense forces, the peace process as well as the security situation in the country and in the region.
He has also met with Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan General Scott Miller to assess the overall security situation and the drawdown of U.S. forces, according to a Pentagon’s statement cited by media.
The U.S. President Donald Trump will reduce the number of his forces in Afghanistan from nearly 4,500 to 2,500 in mid-January, just before leaving his office, the Pentagon announced earlier last month.
President Trump’s Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said at the Pentagon on November 17 that about 2,000 troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by January 15, leaving 2,500 in the country.
Miller’s trip to Afghanistan comes few days after the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley as well as the top commander of the United States for the Middle East Gen. McKenzie also visited Kabul where they met with President Ghani.
He also voiced concern over an increase in violence, according to palace’s statement, and both sides discussed needs for permanent ceasefire.
Recently, the country gripped with decades-long war has been witnessing high levels of violence amid peace efforts by the government and the Taliban.
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