Russia is denying paying fighters linked to the Taliban in Afghanistan to kill U.S. troops. The allegation is triggering renewed debate on Donald Trump's strategy to end the war, and his relationship with Vladimir Putin. The New York Times says investigators focused in part on a Taliban attack last year that killed three U.S. Marines and an Afghan contractor near an American army base. President Trump denies being told about intelligence reports dating back to February. Members of Congress want to know why they weren't told either. A Kremlin official told Inside Story the bounty killing claims are "fake news". How could the controversy shape efforts to end America's longest war? Presenter: Imran Khan Guests: Richard Weitz - Defence Expert at Wikistrat Global Consultancy Nikolay Surkov - Senior Research Fellow at the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations Omar Zakhilwal - Former Ambassador of Afghanistan in Islamabad, and a former Minister of Finance - Subscribe to our channel: aje.io/AJSubscribe - Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aljazeera - Check our website: www.aljazeera.com/ #AlJazeeraEnglish #UnitedStates #Russia #Afghanistan #InsideStory