On the eve, Russia’s ambassador to NATO Dmitri Rogozin said that an agreement between the Russian Federation and NATO had been drafting on the use of Russian military transport planes in Afghanistan on commercial basis. He said that a delegation of the United Aircraft Corporation headed by its president Alexei Fyodorov would arrive in Brussels on the 17th of February to discuss the details of the agreement.

Notably, the question of cooperation between Russia and the alliance in equipping the Afghan army, supplying it with helicopters and spare parts for them, and training pilots was raised during the visit to Moscow of NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in December.

It’s worth mentioning that a few days ago, Russian ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Andrei Avetisyan, said that Russia was ready to reconstruct the Salang Tunnel and other infrastructure facilities and cooperate in military and technical areas.

Meanwhile, the US special envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke will reportedly visit Georgia on the 22nd of February. He will focus on the involvement of a Georgian contingent in NATO operations in Afghanistan at his talks with the Georgian leaders. Georgia is planned to send about 700 servicemen to Afghanistan this spring.

Another report says that an Armenian peacekeeping contingent arrived in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz a few days ago to take part in NATO operations as part of the International Security Assistance Force in the country. Armenian officers of the contingent will arrive in Kunduz to get acquainted with the region and its mission. The Armenian contingent consists of 40 people and will guard the airport together with the German units.