Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday asked for clarity on United States President Donald Trump’s remark that he could easily win the war in Afghanistan but did not want to “kill 10 million people”, AFP reported.

“If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week,” the US president had said during a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, according to ToloNews. “I just don’t want to kill 10 million people. If I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the Earth, it would be gone, it would be over in, literally, in 10 days.”

Ghani’s office said in a statement: “The government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan calls for clarification on the US president’s statements expressed at a meeting with the Pakistan prime minister, via diplomatic means and channels.”

The Afghan government also said it would not allow any foreign power to dictate its affairs. “Our relationship and cooperation with the world, particularly with the United States, is based on mutual interests and mutual respect,” the statement said. “We support the US’ efforts for bringing peace to Afghanistan but the main fate of the country cannot be determined in foreign leaders’ meeting in the absence of Afghan leadership. Our Afghanistan will remain in the world’s political arena with strength.”

Trump had also said during his meeting with Khan that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to mediate in the Kashmir dispute, a claim swiftly denied by New Delhi. The claim led to outrage by the Opposition parties in India as they demanded that Modi clarify his position.