Military air transit to Afghanistan via Russia has not begun yet - FM
Air transit of military cargoes through Russia for the coalition forces in Afghanistan has not begun yet, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov said on Monday.
“We have not received any requests from the American side. Air transit of military cargoes has not begun yet. We are waiting for appropriate requests from the American side,” he said.
Moscow considers the operation being carried out by the United States and other countries in Afghanistan from the point of view of the fight against terrorism, the deputy spokesman said.
“We confirm all of the obligations we have assumed under the agreement and are ready to work,” the diplomat said.
Russia and Washington signed the inter-governmental agreement on the transit of arms, military hardware, military property and personnel through Russia in early July in connection with the participation of the U.S. Armed Forces in the efforts to ensure security, stabilisation and reconstruction in Afghanistan.
"We are prepared for full-scale cooperation with our American and other partners, including in terms of transit. We are ready to help in different fields," President Dmitry Medvedev said.
He said he "appreciates the efforts the U.S. is taking together with other countries in order to prevent the terrorist threat that emanates and unfortunately still emanates to a large extent from Afghanistan".
The U.S. and Russia made an agreement on military transit to Afghanistan. It was signed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns.
The agreement calls for 4,500 flights a year and supplements the previous agreement on non-military transit.
The agreement will enable the U.S. to further diversify the crucial transportation routes and decrease the amount of time needed to move troops and critical equipment to resupply international forces in Afghanistan and to bring needed supplies to the government and people of Afghanistan. This will permit 4,500 flights per year. The new transit routes will save the United States government up to 133 million U.S. dollars annually in fuel, maintenance and other transportation costs, and this agreement is free of any air navigation charges. By providing access to these transit routes, the Russian Federation is enabling a substantial increase in the efficiency of our common effort to defeat the forces of violent extremism in Afghanistan and to ensure Afghanistan's and the broader region's security, the White House said.
Conflict and instability in Afghanistan are a threat to the region and the world. The growing flow of narcotics from Afghanistan threatens the well-being of Europe and Central Asia, and provides a source of lucrative funding for terrorists and criminals throughout the region, it said.
The Russian Federation's decision to open these valuable transit routes supplements its already robust airlift support and provision of commodities to Coalition efforts in Afghanistan, and further illustrates that Russia is a valuable member of the international coalition supporting the security, stability, and reconstruction of Afghanistan, the White House statement said.
"The topic of Russian-U.S. cooperation on the Afghan track is extremely important and this is why we gave so much attention top this issue at the talks. We have just signed the agreement on transit. This is an important topic and we will certainly continue cooperation with our American partners," he said.
"The current situation in Afghanistan is not simple. I do not want to say that it s deteriorating, but there is no progress in many respects or it is ephemeral," he added.
"I don't know how quickly the situation can be changed. It will depend to a large extent on how fast the political system in Afghanistan evolves and how much progress the Afghan government makes in the economy. Right now it's all very complicated there," Medvedev said.
The current situation in Afghanistan differs from the situation when the Soviet military contingent was deployed in that country, Medvedev said.
Russia is ready to "cooperate with the alliance's forces, but not in military terms -- we will not do that - but in terms of counter-terrorist cooperation," he said.
"We have allowed both civilian and military transit for a number of European countries. We will discuss transit to Afghanistan with [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama who will come here next week," the president said.
"I think that this is our contribution to the resolution of the problem of terrorism, including on the Afghan track," he added.
However he believes this would not be enough. "It is necessary to restore the political system in Afghanistan and build a modern society there, but taking into account Afghan specificities, create new jobs and fight drugs," Medvedev said.
"Only then can terrorism be defeated. This is why we would like to make some input, too," he said.
Russia is "at the forefront of repelling threats and the terrorist menace because a part of rebels simply penetrate our country from that territory through Central Asia, and the drug threat that goes into Russia the same way and seeks to reach Europe, of course," Medvedev said.
He pointed out the fact that "the military component alone won't bring any success".
A success "can accompany those who help Afghans to build their own state and their own modern society, taking into account, I emphasise, Afghan traditions, and a developed economy", he said.
The use of force "is a road to nowhere because the situation will become more complicated and will degrade every year."
