MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia dismissed a U.S. allegation it may be supplying Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan as “a lie” on Friday, saying the charge was an attempt by Washington to try to cover up for the failure of its own policies there, the RIA news agency reported.

The top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday that he had seen Russian influence on Afghan Taliban insurgents growing and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the militants, whose reach is expanding in southern Afghanistan.

RIA attributed the denial to the Russian Foreign Ministry.