Russia to consider Afghanistan's request for arms supply 'carefully'

Kremlin's special envoy to Afghanistan says Americans should take care of supplies as they are there with NATO forces

MOSCOW: Russia will consider Afghanistan's request for arms supply in a careful manner, but that task belongs first of all to the United States, RIA news agency cited Kremlin's special envoy to Afghanistan as saying on Monday.

Zamir Kabulov told the agency that Russia has already received some requests from Afghanistan.



"They are being worked out, but all will be decided proportionally, reasonably and carefully," Kabulov said. "Let the Americans take care of the supplies as they are there with NATO forces - this is the their problem first of all."

Earlier in November, Afghanistan was poised to acquire four attack helicopters from India to help it fight a growing Taliban insurgency, a small but significant deal marking a shift in Kabul’s search for allies that is likely to anger Pakistan.

Soon after he took over, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani held off military assistance from India while he courted Pakistan’s political and military leadership to end years of mutual hostility and steer the Taliban, many of who live in Pakistan, toward negotiations.



But a wave of bombings in Kabul that Ghani said were plotted in Pakistan, followed by the Taliban encircling major cities including briefly taking over Kunduz in the north, has prompted a scramble to shore up support in the region.