Afghanistan has rejected President Trump’s calls for the United States to retake control of Bagram Air Base. President Trump made the comments on Thursday during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

President Donald Trump: “We were going to keep Bagram, the big air base, that’s one of the biggest air bases in the world. We gave it to them for nothing. We’re trying to get it back, by the way. OK? That could be a little breaking news. We’re trying to get it back, because they need things from us. We want that base back. But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”

On social media, Zakir Jalal, an Afghan Foreign Ministry official, said, “Afghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another … without the United States maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan.”