Pompeo insists he raised Taliban 'bounties' on US troops with Russia despite Trump not doing so
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured lawmakers on Thursday that the Trump administration has confronted top Russian diplomats and military officers about the alleged bounties Russia has offered Taliban-linked rebels to kill American troops in Afghanistan — even though Donald Trump has refused to bring the topic up with his counterpart Vladimir Putin.
"I can assure you and the American people that each time I've spoken with [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov, I have raised all of the issues that put any American interests at risk, whether it's our soldiers on the ground in Syria, soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan, the activities that are taking place in Libya, the actions in Ukraine," Mr Pompeo testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"Each and every one of these [issues] that potentially threaten American interests are things that I raise in my conversations with Foreign Minister Lavrov, and I speak with him with some frequency."
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