The White House denied on Saturday that President Donald Trump was briefed on bribes offered by Moscow to Afghan insurgents for killing Western soldiers in Afghanistan, information released by the New York Times on Friday .
Spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said "neither the president nor the vice president has been briefed on these so-called Russian bonuses," citing "the inaccuracy of the New York Times story , which wrongly suggests that President Trump has been informed of this matter. " According to the New York daily, in addition to the American president, the United Kingdom has also been informed of the existence of these supposed Russian bonuses.
"Everyone denies it and there have not been many attacks against us"
"No one briefed me, or briefed Vice President Mike Pence or Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on the alleged attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by the Russians," added Donald Trump in a tweet on Sunday. morning. "Everyone denies it and there have not been many attacks against us," he added, once again questioning the veracity of the information in the New York daily.
The Fake News @ nytimes must reveal its “anonymous” source. Bet they can't do it, this “person” probably does not even exist! https://t.co/pdg4AjybOG
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 28, 2020Anonymous officials quoted by the American daily say Russian military intelligence (GRU) has been discreetly distributing money to Islamist fighters and criminals "close to the Taliban" to kill American or NATO soldiers in Afghanistan.
Moscow and the Taliban also deny
"These unfounded and anonymous accusations that Moscow is behind the deaths of American soldiers in Afghanistan have already resulted in direct threats to the lives of employees of Russian embassies in Washington and London," the Russian Embassy in the United States tweeted.
In another message, the embassy called on the New York Times to "stop fabricating false information" and asked the US authorities to "take effective measures" to keep its employees safe.
The Taliban, who have faced Afghan power and foreign troops since being ousted from power in 2001 by an international coalition led by the United States, have also vigorously denied the allegations.
"The holy war waged for 19 years by the Islamic Emirate (name of the Afghan state under the Taliban regime, from 1996 to 2001, note) owes nothing to the benefits of any intelligence service or foreign country," say they in a statement issued in Kabul.
Attacks on declining foreign troops
The Taliban also point out that it remains committed to the agreement signed on February 29 in Doha with Washington, which notably provides that they will stop attacking foreign troops in exchange for their gradual withdrawal from Afghanistan before the spring. 2021.
The Taliban have largely stopped attacking foreign troops, but continue their operations against Afghan forces, to which Washington then continues to assist by intervening on the ground.
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