"The president’s decision should be seen as a transition, not closure," Reed said on Tuesday. "We still have vital security issues in the region, and the United States must continue to ensure that Afghanistan will not become a safe haven for terrorism, and do all we can to empower the legitimate government of Afghanistan."

President Joe Biden announced last month that US forces would leave Afghanistan by September 11. The Taliban movement has protested the statement saying Washington had agreed to complete the troop withdrawal earlier.

Reed, who chairs the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said the United States must learn from the past and keep a strong presence in the region to ensure that another situation such as the rise of the Islamic State terror group (outlawed in Russia) does not happen again.