The Kremlin on Monday rejected as "lies" media reports that Russian forces had offered to pay Taliban-linked militants to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was never briefed about the reported Russian military intelligence efforts and blasted a New York Times report about them.

Asked about the reports on a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said media outlets should take heed of Trump's comments and also said that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had never discussed the allegations.