KABUL, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. army chief of staff paid an unannounced visit to Afghan capital Kabul and held a meeting with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Thursday, said a statement of the Presidential Palace received Friday.

"General Mark A. Milley at the head of ranking delegation visited Kabul and met President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in Presidential Palace on Thursday evening," said the statement.

"Matters pertaining mutual interests including the U.S. strategy on Afghanistan and South Asia, Afghan peace process under the leadership of Afghans and the Afghan government plans for achieving self-sufficiency came under discussion," the statement added.

The U.S. top military official's visit to Afghanistan took place in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement to drawdown troops by half, taking back about 7,000 out of some 14,000 of his forces from Afghanistan.

The Taliban outfit has repeatedly rejected to hold talks on peace with the Afghan government in the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan.