Russia denies aiding Afghan Taliban in wake of US general’s comments on arms supply
KABUL: Russia has rejected comments by Nato’s top commander in Afghanistan that it has been supporting and even supplying weapons to the Taliban, in a clash of words that underlines growing tension over Moscow’s involvement in the conflict.
In an interview with the BBC last week, General John Nicholson said that Russia had been acting to undermine US efforts in Afghanistan despite shared interests in fighting terrorism and narcotics, with indications that Moscow was providing financial support and even arms.
“We’ve had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by Afghan leaders and said this was given by the Russians to the Taliban,” he said.
A statement from the Russian embassy in Kabul dismissed the comments as “idle gossip”, repeating previous denials by Russian officials.
“Once again, we insist that such statements are absolutely baseless and appeal to officials not to talk nonsense,” the embassy said.
US commanders, including Nicholson, have said on several occasions over the past year that Russia may be supplying arms to the Taliban although no confirmed evidence has so far been made public.
However, Nicholson’s comments were unusually blunt and came in a context of growing tensions between Nato members and Moscow over the case of Sergei Skripal, a former intelligence agent found poisoned with a rare nerve agent in Britain.
GERMAN STAND: German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has told Bundeswehr troops stationed in Afghanistan that they should prepare to stay in the conflictridden country for the foreseeable future.
Afghanistan is not yet in the position to take on responsibility for its own security, Von der Leyen said on Sunday during a visit to the Bundeswehr base in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif.
“It is not a question of a time frame that must be stubbornly stuck to,” she said. The length of the mission depends on the successes achieved and the condition of the country, she said. “We need patience.”
Von der Leyen and a group of German lawmakers were visiting the base on Sunday to gain insight into the situation on the ground for the troops. The group also visited an Afghan Air Force base.
Much had changed for the better for the Afghan population, Von der Leyen said, but it was still a challenge for the Afghan security forces to hold back the Taliban.
The Afghan security forces currently control only 60 per cent of the country: “That is good, but not enough by a long shot,” Von der Leyen said.
BLAST NEAR MOSQUE: A suicide attack near a mosque in Herat killed at least one person and wounded eight others, police and health officials said on Sunday.
Militant group IS claimed responsibility for the attack, which followed another blast that was claimed by the group in Kabul last week and killed about 30 people near a shrine as the city celebrated Nawruz, the Persian new year.