MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Pentagon's claims on Russia's supply of arms to the Taliban terrorist group, which is banned in Russia, are not backed up by any evidence, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.
"Such statements are not supported by any evidence," the ministry said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry indicated that the US military proceeded with its claims that Russia supported Taliban militants in order to divert international attention from the US failures in Afghanistan.
"There is a firm impression that the US attempts to slander Russia in the Afghan context are being undertaken in order to distract the attention of the world from its numerous mistakes made during the 16-year stay in Afghanistan," it said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had stated that the alliance had no evidence of Russia's support for Taliban movement.
US generals have repeatedly accused Russia of supporting Taliban terrorist group, which was called absurd and unsubstantiated by the Russian Foreign Ministry. According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, such allegations do not correspond to reality, as the Russian Defense Ministry, unlike US government agencies, had never had any contacts with Taliban, let alone supplied arms to the terrorist group.
