Pentagon Declines to Comment on Taliban's Call for Withdrawal of US Troops

US Department of State spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Tuesday refused to comment on the Taliban's (outlawed in Russia) letter calling on President Trump to withdraw American "occupation forces" from Afghanistan.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The terroist group claimed in the letter that the ongoing violence in Afghanistan was the result of US forces being on the ground there and provoking the wars. The Taliban also accused the US-led coalition for the destruction of the country that has made Afghanistan one of the worst nations in terms of security, governance, and economy.

"Yeah. I certainly have [seen the letter]. So I’m not going to comment on any statements put out by the Taliban on that," Nauert told reporters later that day.

The release of the Taliban's new letter took place amid the Trump administration's review of Afghanistan policy.

On August 3, US Sen. Lindsey Graham said the United States could turn the tide of the war in Afghanistan with just 3,000-4,000 additional troops and boosted air capacity. Last week, US Sen. In July, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said the Pentagon was close to completing its policy review for a new strategy in Afghanistan.

The US mission in Afghanistan ended in 2014, but on January 1, 2015, NATO announced its new mission in the country, called Resolute Support, to train and assist the Afghan security forces.

Afghanistan has long been suffering from unstable political, social and security situation due to the simmering militant insurgency, including that of Taliban and Daesh terrorist groups, outlawed in Russia.