Earlier, the head of the White House said that American troops could return from Afghanistan before the end of the year.
“We hope he [Trump] wins the election and the US military presence in Afghanistan ends”, – Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS on Saturday.
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Mertau chose to disown such support. The Taliban should know that the president will always protect American interests by any means, he said. Another representative of the radicals noted that Trump “was much more honest” with the movement than they expected.
As the Afghan TV channel Tolonews later reported, Mujahid himself, commenting on the publication, later said that CBS had misinterpreted his statements.
US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
Earlier, the head of the White House in an interview with Fox Business TV company said that American troops could return from Afghanistan before the end of the year.
On February 29, the US and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha. According to the agreements, the United States, its allies and the coalition intend to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan within 14 months. In turn, the Taliban guarantee that they will not use the territory of their country for actions that pose a threat to the security of the United States and its allies.
The operation in Afghanistan has been ongoing since October 2001 and has become the longest-running overseas military campaign in American history. At its peak in 2010-2013, the number of Western forces in Afghanistan exceeded 150,000. The main combat forces of the United States and NATO were withdrawn from there in 2014.