The Taliban maintain only political contacts with Russia, but no military ties. This was stated by the representative of the political office of the Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation) Suheil Shahin in an interview published on Saturday, August 8, to RIA Novosti.
“Our political office (in Doha – Ed.) Maintains relations with both Russia and neighboring countries and the region. But only at the political level. We are not talking about military relations, and we categorically reject such considerations. They can also be part of a campaign to break the peace agreement, ”he said.
Speaking about the weapons the movement has, Shahin noted the presence of weapons in Afghanistan. In addition, the Taliban buy weapons from the Kabul administration.
“Somehow there were reports that hundreds of thousands of weapons were missing or stolen from them. So we bought this weapon from them. We captured something (during the battles – Ed.). So we have a lot of ammunition. And all this was received from the Kabul administration, ”he said.
A spokesman for the movement also commented on the Taliban’s ties with the United States. According to him, the parties have established a military communications channel for data exchange.
“Now we have a communication channel for the military, and if any violations occur, we inform them (the American side), send statements, they do the same,” the agency quoted Shahin as saying.
He also stressed that Washington did not ask the Taliban for information about the Russian side’s “bribery” of the movement, since the US authorities know that this is a fake.
In June, The New York Times published an article that Russia allegedly offered the Taliban a reward for killing the US military in Afghanistan.
After that, The Washington Post wrote that several American soldiers died due to “collusion”. At the same time, the publication did not provide any evidence or even indication of sources.
In turn, American intelligence and the White House called such information unreliable. The Russian Foreign Ministry explained the publication about the connection with the Taliban by stuffing “provocateurs with low intellectual abilities”.
At the same time, the adviser to the President of the United States Robert O’Brien said that if this information is confirmed, Moscow will “pay a certain price” for these actions. The Russian foreign ministry called such statements “a figment of a raging imagination.”