Russia to offer air base to US for Afghan transit

Blackwater

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Moscow: A new deal allowing the United States and its NATO allies to use a Russian air base for transit of troops and military cargo to Afghanistan would help ensure Russia's own security, Russia's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Sergey Lavrov said a plan to permit the US and other NATO nations to use the base in the city of Ulyanovsk on the Volga River will soon be considered by the Russian Cabinet.

Moscow has provided the US and other NATO member states with air corridors and railway routes for carrying supplies to and from Afghanistan. The new deal would for the first time allow alliance members to set up a logistics facility for troops and cargo on Russian territory.

Lavrov strongly defended the deal, saying the success of NATO's mission is essential for fending off the spread of terrorism and illegal drugs from Afghanistan into ex-Soviet Central Asian nations and Russia.

"It's in our interests that the coalition achieves a success before withdrawing and make sure that the Afghans are capable of defending their country and ensuring an acceptable level of security," Lavrov told the lower house of Russia's legislature. Some lawmakers argued that the US military's use of the Ulyanovsk facility could threaten Russia by allowing foreign troops on its soil.

"We want those who are fending off threats directed at Russia to efficiently fulfill their tasks," Lavrov said. "We are helping the coalition to proceed from our own interests."

The foreign minister said the deal to be considered by the Cabinet would allow the transit of NATO troops but that they wouldn't be allowed to stay there.

"They aren't going to live there. They will only be moving from one transportation means to another," Lavrov said.

He sought to assuage the lawmakers' concern by saying that Russia would reserve the right to check the cargo, but provide specifics about the deal.

The proposal comes at a time when the US government has concerns about its supply options to coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta met with Kyrgyzstan's leaders to stress that America needs the continued use of the US air base there beyond the end of its contract in 2014, largely as a transit center to bring troops home from Afghanistan.


Russia to offer air base to US for Afghan transit
 

SADAKHUSH

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There is no surprise in the latest agreement. There is a grand alliance between NATO, Russia, India, China and most of the GCC countries to defeat these parasites in Afghanistan, if they are allowed to return than they will spread like termite enveloping all the nations in the region. In my opinion NATO should stay on course and extend its stay beyond 2014 whose expense should be borne by GCC and nations with vested interest in Afghanistan's stability without interference from the Paki nation.
 

Ray

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Russia, notwithstanding all its grandstanding, is mortified with the jihads being safe with a free hand to do what they like once the US drawsdown.
 

Tshering22

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There is no surprise in the latest agreement. There is a grand alliance between NATO, Russia, India,China and most of the GCC countries to defeat these parasites in Afghanistan, if they are allowed to return than they will spread like termite enveloping all the nations in the region. In my opinion NATO should stay on course and extend its stay beyond 2014 whose expense should be borne by GCC and nations with vested interest in Afghanistan's stability without interference from the Paki nation.
I don't really think so....the kind of support they've shown both Pakistan's nuclear program doesn't seem like any anti-Jihad plan. In fact, Chinese plan to use Jihad and weaken the other forces. Though they themselves hate anything to do with Jihad. And GCC is the group of nations funding them with Saudi being the largest financial backers of these lunatics. They pretend to be all Westernized but they are the real reason why Taliban exists.
 

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