Esper added that he had spoken with Ghani on Friday, who in turn assured him that he was ready to work with the United States.
The US secretary of defence went on to say that the reduction of violence proposal between the Taliban* and Washington was "very promising."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that the alliance was ready to consider adjusting the number of its troops in Afghanistan under the condition that the Taliban is able to demonstrate both the willingness and capability to reduce violence and commit to peace.
Over the past year, the US held a number of peace talks with the Taliban in a bid to encourage the group to cut the ties with terrorists and begin a rapprochement with the Afghan government, paving the way for US troops to pull out. No significant results have so far been achieved during these talks.
*Taliban, al-Qaeda, Daesh [the Islamic State, ISIL, ISIS] - terrorist groups banned in Russia and a number of other countries