U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns who arrives in Moscow on Thursday for talks has dismissed reports about the failure of plans to transport American cargo to Afghanistan through Russia. He stated this in an interview with the Russian press.

“In fact, we used the right to transport cargo through Russia only a few times, and I think that this useful transport system will be used quite often in the next few months,” Williams Burns noted.

However, earlier, Radio Liberty informed quoting officials in Moscow and Russian and American experts about the blocking of cargo transit through Russia for the NATO forces in Afghanistan. Danil Galperovich in his article posted on its website says the move was based on military and even geopolitical reasons rather than technical ones.

According to the American diplomat, the U.S and Russia have common strategic tasks in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan is a territory where the U.S., Russia and other partners have a common strategic task, which is aimed at defeating al-Qaeda and other extremists and helping Afghans to build a stable government,” William Burns said.

Meanwhile, several experts urge Moscow to develop its own Afghan strategy and reject broader cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan.