United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a press conference at the State Department on April 29, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | AFP | fake pictures
WASHINGTON – The nation’s top diplomat warned the Taliban’s top negotiator during a video conference call not to attack U.S. citizens amid reports that a Russian military intelligence unit offered rewards to Taliban-linked fighters for the death of American soldiers.
Monday’s call between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Taliban deputy chief negotiator Mullah Baradar focused on the full implementation of the Doha agreement, according to a State Department statement. The Doha agreement, signed between the US and the Taliban in February, plans the withdrawal of foreign military forces from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees and a reduction in fighting.
Pompeo’s conversation comes immediately after an explosive New York Times report that Russia paid the Taliban cash rewards for attacking and killing US troops in Afghanistan. The Times reported Monday night that Trump had received written intelligence in February and The Associated Press reported that the White House was aware of the matter in early 2019.
“The secretary made clear the expectation that the Taliban will honor their commitments, which include not attacking the Americans,” State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement Tuesday.
Read more: Mothers of military sons killed in Afghanistan want investigation into Russian death rewards
In a statement released just before midnight, the Pentagon said Monday that intelligence on the rewards has not been confirmed.
“The Defense Department continues to evaluate the intelligence that Russian GRU operatives were involved in malicious activities against the United States and the coalition forces in Afghanistan. To date, the Defense Department has no evidence to corroborate the valuable allegations found in open source reports, “said the Pentagon spokesman. Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
“Regardless, we always take the security of our forces in Afghanistan, and throughout the world, with the utmost seriousness, and therefore we continually take steps to avoid harm from possible threats,” added Hoffman.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday that President Donald Trump was not informed on the matter because the allegations had not been verified by the intelligence community.
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