Published 15:52 IST, June 29th 2020
Donald Trump says he was not informed about 'Russian bounty' plot as it was not 'credible'
Trump said that he was not informed about the alleged Russian plot to offer bounties to Taliban fighters to kill US troops because the intel was not credible.
US President Donald Trump on June 28 said that he was not informed about the alleged Russian plot to offer bounties to Taliban fighters to kill US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan because the intelligence was not 'credible'. Trump on Sunday took to his official Twitter handle where he said that the US intelligence agency just reported to him that they did not find the information credible and therefore did not report to him or the Vice President. Trump called the reports 'another fabricated Russia hoax' possibly by 'Fake News' wanting to make the Republicans look bad.
Russian bounty report
The New York Times on June 27 had reported that the Russian military intelligence unit GRU offered bounties to Taliban fighters to kill US and NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan to reportedly drive them out of the country. According to reports, some Taliban fighters allegedly received the bounty money from the Russians. The Times further reported that US President Donald Trump was briefed about the intelligence in late March but he failed to retaliate. Russian foreign ministry has called the reports 'nonsense' saying that it illustrates the low intellectual level of the propagandists of American intelligence.
The report comes months ahead of the US Presidential election, where Republican Donald Trump will run against the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Donald Trump's last presidential victory was marked by allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 US elections to help the current president win. Donald Trump since resuming the presidency has been accused of taking a soft approach towards Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin.
Updated 18:25 IST, June 29th 2020