The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday the planned withdrawal of half of American troops from Afghanistan was "a step in the right direction".

At a weekly briefing, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added Russia was waiting to see how the withdrawal would be realised in practice.

“Earlier we heard that the Americans didn't fulfil their promises in that area,” she added.

“We have paid attention also to the announcement by the American government on the coming withdrawal of half of the contingent of US forces from Afghanistan. We consider this a step in the right direction with the ability to begin the peace process, so let's just see how it will be realized in practice because earlier we heard that the Americans didn't fulfil their promises in that area,” she said.

Reports by US media indicate that Trump administration has ordered the US military to start withdrawing up to 7,000 troops from Afghanistan in the coming months.

The reports say that US President Donald Trump made the decision to pull the troops — about half the number the United States has in Afghanistan now — at the same time he decided to pull American forces out of Syria.

Last week, the US Defense Secretary James Mattis announced that he would resign from his position at the end of February after disagreeing with President Trump over his approach to policy in the Middle East.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the development.

The US troops in Afghanistan are divided between training and advising Afghan forces and a counterterror mission.

According to the report, those who are part of the 7,000-troop withdrawal will be a mixture of forces from both of those missions.