OFFICIAL MOSCOW DISAVOWS MISINFORMATION ON TURKMENISTAN.

Russian Foreign Ministry chief spokesman Gennady Tarasov yesterday described as "concoctions" recent Moscow media allegations that Turkmenistan serves as a conduit for arms deliveries to Taliban forces in Afghanistan and for Taliban drug deliveries to Russia and Europe. Dissemination of such stories "damages traditionally friendly Russian-Turkmen relations," Tarasov commented, citing Turkmenistan’s recent statement which described those stories as "slander and misinformation." (Interfax, April 15)

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