During his visit to Washington, Russia's top diplomat on Wednesday reiterated that Moscow is not supplying weapons to the Taliban.

Afghan Voice Agency(AVA), Give me at least one fact. Those who have been seriously tackling the Afghan issue understand very well what is going on there, so no serious analyst, who is not seeking cheap popularity, will not say that we are supplying weapons to the Taliban,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters.

He suggested that Moscow’s contacts with the Taliban are aimed at peace.

“We are working with the Taliban in order to implement the United Nations Security Council’s decision taken at the Afghan government’s request, which says that the Taliban should join the political process provided they recognize the current constitution of Afghanistan, renounce the use of violence and server their ties with terrorists,” Lavrov said.

He said that the Taliban are part of the Afghan people and “it is hard to imagine” that this conflict could be resolved without them.

The Russian foreign minister further criticized NATO for being “unable to solve any issue facing” Afghanistan and “exacerbating the terrorist threat by allowing Islamic State” to enter the country.

Earlier, the U.S. commander of international forces in Afghanistan said that he was not refuting reports that Russia was providing support, including weapons, to the Taliban. A senior U.S. military official reportedly said that Russia was giving machine guns and other medium-weight weapons to the militant group.