Moj News-Suhail Shaheen has refuted as groundless the claims about Russia's bounties allegedly paid to the Taliban for murdering US servicemen in Afghanistan.

    "The American side has not asked about this because they also know this is not a reality, it is not true, it is fake, so they have not asked about that. Right now we have a military communication channel, if there is any kind of violation, we send them our statements and memos ... and they also send us. But about this particular topic, they have not asked us," Shaheen said when asked whether US special services had requested any information and whether the Taliban had agreed to cooperate on the matter.

Kabul's Failure to Release Taliban Prisoners May Lead to Escalation

The Afghan government's failure to release the 5,000 Taliban prisoners, in compliance with the Doha Agreement, could result in the resumption of clashes, and only the Kabul administration will be to blame for the escalation, Suhail Shaheen said.

    "If the prisoners are not released, it means the Kabul administration, they do not want a peaceful solution of the Afghan issue and they have adopted a military approach. So that means that they opted for military approach, so the fighting will increase and the responsibility will rest with the Kabul administration," Shaheen said.

The Loya Jirga, a gathering of Afghan elders that started in Kabul on Friday, will be creating obstacles to the release of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners who should be freed from Afghan jails as a precondition for the intra-Afghan peace negotiations, Suhail Shaheen stressed.

    "I think this Loya Jirga is convened by the Kabul administration. In our will, it is not legitimate, so their decision is also not legitimate ... It is clearly mentioned in the Doha Agreement that before the beginning of the intra-Afghan negotiations, 5,000 our prisoners should be released. So there is no need for Loya Jirga. The Loya Jirga is convened only to create obstacles in the way of releasing these prisoners," Shaheen said.

The Taliban spokesman stressed that the Doha Agreement was the "proper mechanism" for the solution of the Afghan crisis.

Ahead of the Friday meeting, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the Loya Jirga to release the remaining Taliban prisoners to enable the eventual resumption of the peace talks.