A NATO member, Belgium was part of the alliance’s joint force in Afghanistan but Brussels moved to recall its troops in May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Belgium’s Defence Minister Philippe Goffin has claimed that the country’s military intelligence service SGRS was in the know about alleged collusion between Russia and the Taliban*.
He referred to “only one incident” that Goffin asserted “could be linked to the bounty programme, most notably the car-bomb attack on an American convoy in early April 2019″, which killed three US soldiers. The SGRS has not commented on the matter yet.
At least 92 Belgian servicemen took part in NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan earlier this year, in what was later followed by the troops being recalled by Brussels due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Resolute Support is a follow-up mission to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) completed on 28 December 2014. About 500 Belgian personnel took part in the ISAF, launched in 2001 and joined by Belgium in 2008.
US-Taliban Peace Talks
The collusion claims come amid a US push to pull out its forces from Afghanistan after talks with the Taliban. In February, the two sides signed a peace deal that concluded rounds of talks aimed at launching the reconciliation process in Afghanistan following almost two decades of armed conflict and insurgency.
In one of the latest developments, Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said that intra-Afghan talks were closer than ever after Kabul and the Taliban carried out a significant exchange of prisoners.
Russia, who withdrew its troops from Afghanistan back in 1989 after a 10-year stint, has repeatedly signalled support for the US-Taliban peace talks.
Moscow Denies Collusion Allegations
As for the collusion allegations, they were rejected by Russia, as well as the Pentagon, the NSA and the Pentagon, which cited the lack of any evidence to support the claims.
The Taliban also refuted the claims, noting that its actions are not related to foreign intelligence agencies or governments, and dubbing the allegations an attempt to obstruct the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
In June, The New York Times cited unnamed sources as saying that President Donald Trump had been presented with an intelligence report claiming that Russia could have paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to assassinate US and coalition troops in Afghanistan.
* The Taliban is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and many other countries
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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