Destination Afghanistan: Russia eases NATO transit rules

Deal with Kabul to ease Nato's reliance on the Pakistan route.

MOSCOW: Russia will let Nato take armoured vehicles to Afghanistan through its territory under an expanded transit deal that would reduce Nato’s reliance on Pakistan, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

“The transit applies to armoured vehicles with anti-mine protection,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news briefing attended by his Afghan counterpart Zalmay Rasul.

Lavrov added that existing transit deals, permitting the Western military alliance to ship non-lethal supplies such as food and fuel to Afghanistan, would be expanded to allow for so-called “reverse shipments”. The addendum would potentially allow for vehicles in need of repair and refurbishment to be sent back to Nato countries. However, the transit deal stops short of opening the Russian route for weapons for the Nato mission in Afghanistan.

Lavrov also said Russian counter-narcotics experts would continue to participate in joint anti-drug raids with Nato in Afghanistan, after the first such operation last month.

Currently, about 80 percent of Nato’s supplies cross through Pakistan and Nato has been trying to reduce its dependence on oil convoy routes through Pakistan because they are exposed to frequent militant attacks.

Rasul said Afghan President Hamid Karzai was planning a visit to Russia in January. Karzai has sought to improve ties with Moscow and asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on his last Russian trip in August for help in establishing peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Russia’s Nato envoy was quick on Thursday to stress that the deal would not allow Nato to ship tanks or combat-ready armoured personnel carriers (APCs) through Russian territory.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2010