Russian official mocks intel on bounties
MOSCOW — Russia's top diplomat on Friday dismissed U.S. intelli gen ce information alleging that Moscow offered bounties to the Taliban for killing American soldiers as a product of election year politics in Washington.
U.S. intelligence officials said information about Russia's al l eged bounties on t he heads of troops in Afghanistan was included in an intelligence brief for President Donald Trump in late February. The White House has denied Trump received the information at that time, arguing that the intelligence wasn't credible enough to bring to the president's attention.
Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the intel ligence claims as a sham. The intelligence assessments that Russia offered bounties were first reported by The New York Times, then confirmed to The Associated Press by American intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter.
“There has been a hype in the United States over speculation on alleged ties between Russia and the Taliban and our alleged push on them to fight against U.S. servicemen or even a reward for their heads,” Lavrov said during a videoconference on foreign policy issues. “I can only say that the entire thing has hinged on unscrupulous speculations, and no concrete facts have been presented whatsoever.”