Top officials said Monday that the U.S. needs to confront Russia for providing arms to the Taliban in the wake of a devastating attack on an Afghan army base.
Speaking to reporters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Gen. John Nicholson did not get into specifics of Russia’s role in Afghanistan.
But Nicholson said he is “not refuting” reports that Russia is supplying weapons to the Taliban while Mattis said the United States would need to confront any behavior that violates international law, such as arming insurgents.
“Arming belligerents or legitimizing belligerents who perpetuate attacks like we saw two days ago in Mazar-i-Sharif is not the best way forward to a peaceful reconciliation,” said Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
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