US general: Russia helps Taliban

24.03.2017 - 11:08
But Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the Taliban

The top US general in Europe said on Thursday he has seen growing Russian influence on the Afghan Taliban, and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the fighters.

Russia has been critical of the US over its handling of the war in Afghanistan - now in its 16th year - where the Soviet Union fought a bloody and disastrous war of its own in the 1980s.

But Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the Taliban, which is contesting large swaths of territory and inflicting heavy casualties, and say their limited contacts are aimed at bringing the group to the negotiating table.

"I've seen the influence of Russia of late - increased influence in terms of association and perhaps even supply to the Taliban," Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, who is also NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

He did not elaborate on what kind of supplies might be headed to the Taliban or how direct Russia's role might be.

Taliban officials have told Reuters news agency the group has had significant contacts with Moscow since at least 2007, but added Russian involvement did not extend beyond "moral and political support".

NATO troops have been fighting in Afghanistan since a US-led invasion in late 2001, following the September 11 attacks.

About 13,000 NATO service members are in Afghanistan - the bulk of them American - under its Resolute Support training mission.

Read this article in russian.

Source: Al Jazeera

Share post:
Main news
Europe
Russia Violates the Geneva Conventions. Executions and Torture of Ukrainian Prisoners of War
Ukraine
MAIN POSITIONS OF INFORMATION RESPONSE EXPLAINING COMPLEX THINGS IN SIMPLE WORDS
Ukraine
Finnish businesses to join Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts
Finnish businesses to join Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts
Read in rubric
Middle East
Suspicions and question marks hang over the Ethics of Federation of Chambers of Commerce
Suspicions and question marks hang over the Ethics of “Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce”
Middle East
A friend of Azerbaijan has been elected chairman of the Arab Electronic Media Union
Middle East
PHOTO: Abu Dhabi Art 2018
Look for us on Facebook
Look for us on Twitter

© Ukraine in Arabic, 2018. All Rights Reserved.