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Moscow never cooperated with Taliban, top security official says

The Russian Supreme Court had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group in 2003, Nikolai Patrushev noted

MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. Moscow has never cooperated with the Taliban, outlawed in Russia, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with the Argumenty i Fakty weekly.

""Frankly speaking, it was the United States that laid the foundation for the Taliban movement," he pointed out, adding that in the 1980s, Washington had spent billions of dollars to support Afghan mujahideen, "who later formed the bulk of terrorist forces not only in Afghanistan but also in the entire region."

"Russia, in contrast, has never cooperated with the Taliban," Patrushev emphasized, pointing out that the Russian Supreme Court had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group in 2003.