OREANDA-NEWS. US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo discussed in a telephone conversation with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani the situation with the release of the three leaders of the extremist organization Haqqani Network, associated with the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia). This was announced on Monday by the press service of the US State Department.

The head of American diplomacy and the Afghan leader discussed “steps to be taken to implement President Ghani’s decision to release the three detained high-ranking Taliban officials.” Secretary Pompeo expressed support for President Ghani’s decision and promised to work closely together to counter violence if the president’s decision will not lead to the expected results", the statement said.

Last week, the Afghan president confirmed that authoritative Hakkani Network commanders Haji Mali Khan, Hafiz Rashid and Anas Hakkani, the brother of one of the Taliban leaders, were released from prison. The condition for their release was the transfer to the authorities of two foreign citizens held by the Taliban. We are talking about two professors, an American and an Australian, who were taken hostage by militants in August 2016 at American University in Kabul.