Italy's foreign ministry on Tuesday said was "never informed" of any plan by defence minister Elisabetta Trenta for a military withdrawal from Afghanistan, after defence ministry sources said on Tuesday Italian troops could leave the country within a year.
"The foreign ministry confirms that it was never informed of the intentions of the intentions of defence minister Elisabetta Trenta... on the decision to withdraw the Italian military contingent from Afghanistan," said a statement.
The statement came after the defence ministry sources were cited on Monday as saying Trenta had asked military command to start initial planning for a full withdrawal of the Italian contingent of up to 900 soldiers from Afghanistan "perhaps within 12 months".
The Five-Star Movement, to which Trenta belongs and which has long questioned the value of Italy's Afghan mission, welcomed the announcement while premier Giuseppe Conte's office was also reportedly "on board".
But a source in the Five-Star Movement's far-right coalition partner, the League party, was quoted on Monday as saying no decision had been taken to pull out Italy's troop contingent from Afghanistan.
Italy has had a military presence in Afghanistan for more than 15 years which has cost almost 7 billion euros and the lives of 54 soldiers.
The US - the biggest contributor to the Nato mission in Afghanistan - is also reportedly planning to cut its military presence there - by up to half.
