WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that his country will return and withhold approximately 160 million U.S. dollars' funds for Afghanistan, citing Afghan government's "corruption and financial mismanagement."
The U.S. government is returning about 100 million dollars to the Treasury that was intended for a large energy infrastructure project in the war-torn country, said Pompeo in a statement released by the State Department.
Meanwhile, Washington will be withholding another 60 million dollars in planned assistance to Afghanistan, the statement added.
Pompeo claimed that the suspension of the funds are due to "identified Afghan Government corruption and financial mismanagement."
The top U.S. diplomat also said that the United States will use an "off-budget" mechanism to complete the infrastructure project.
Washington's decision came days after President Donald Trump claimed that talks with the Taliban for a peace deal in Afghanistan were "dead."
