The White House said on Thursday that U.S President Donald Trump spoke by telephone with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on Wednesday and the two leaders discussed several issues of mutual concern and interest, including the situation in Afghanistan.

"The leaders discussed several issues of mutual concern and interest, including the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the situation in Afghanistan," the White House said in a statement after the telephonic conversation between the two leaders.

"The leaders pledged close cooperation and coordination on these and other issues. They agreed to remain in close contact," it said.

The Trump administration is currently in the process of reviewing its policy on Afghanistan, where the US has over 8,000 troops on the ground.

This comes after U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday at a NATO meeting in Brussels that NATO’s work in Afghanistan remains critical and that his country is committed to supporting the Afghan forces.

In what is seen as the first sign of support by Trump’s administration in fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, Tillerson said: “The United States is committed to the Resolute Support Mission and to our support for Afghan forces.

“NATO’s Train, Advise, And Assist mission is essential to our shared goal of ensuring that Afghanistan develops the capability to contribute to regional stability and prevail over terrorist threats, including al-Qaeda and ISIS (Daesh),” he said.

He said the ongoing commitment of NATO Allies and partners to peace in Afghanistan, including to an eventual settlement between the Afghan government and the Taliban, protects the Alliance’s interests, and, when successful, ensures that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists.

In response to this, Ministry of Defense spokesman Dawlat Waziri told TOLOnews that the war in Afghanistan was not a civil war, but a war against terrorism.