MOSCOW Russia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Moscow has never delivered weapons to the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, countering U.S. allegations.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected the claim by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said Wednesday that he had repeatedly raised the issue during his talks with the Russians.
Russia has only supplied weapons to the legitimate government of Afghanistan, which is well known, Zakharova said at a briefing.
Zakharova didn't comment Thursday on reports that Moscow offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but other Russian officials have denounced them as fake.
Earlier this week, Zamir Kabulov, a top Russian diplomat who serves as Russian President Vladimir Putins representative on Afghanistan, described the bounty allegations as a reflection of the U.S. political infighting, and charged that they could have been spread by forces that dont want to leave Afghanistan and are willing to justify their failure.