U.S. to reduce Afghan aid by $1 billion after Pompeo fails to break impasse

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks to the media at the State Department in Washington, U.S., March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

DOHA/KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday announced a $1 billion (£870 million) cut in U.S. aid to Afghanistan after he failed to convince Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political foe to end a feud that has helped jeopardize a U.S.-led peace effort.

The United States also is prepared to cut 2021 assistance by the same amount and is conducting "a review of all of our programs and projects to identify additional reductions, and reconsider our pledges to future donor conferences for Afghanistan," Pompeo said in a statement.