An internal political fight in the United States is behind "unscrupulous speculation" of Moscow's alleged ties with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated.

Iran PressEurope: Russia's foreign minister has denied US media allegations that Russia bribed the Taliban to kill US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

A top US general said on Thursday that the United States believed Russia has given support to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan in the past but does not have the intelligence to confirm it directed attacks against Americans or to corroborate that it paid bounties to kill US troops.

The New York Times recently reported that an unidentified Russian military intelligence unit had encouraged the Taliban to kill the US and US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

The Russian embassy in Washington via a tweet said that the New York Times's allegation that Moscow is the main culprit in the killing of US troops in Afghanistan is baseless. 207/219

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