Russia, US Not Discussing Resumption Of 'Afghan Transit' Via Ulyanovsk - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2021) Russia and the United States are not discussing the possibility of resuming the practical implementation of the agreement on "Afghan transit" of NATO military cargoes via Ulyanovsk airport, Russia's special presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said.

In June 2012, the Russian government allowed NATO to use air transit through the Ulyanovsk airport to support the forces of the Western coalition in Afghanistan. In 2013, the cargo of the British contingent passed through Ulyanovsk, after which there were no transit flights. In 2015, then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree canceling the permit for the transit of NATO arms and military supplies to Afghanistan.

"The agreement is valid. But we must, as always, consider that from a historical perspective. At that time we were still at the end of the romanticism of Russian-US relations, where there was a certain amount of trust, some kind of mutual support, a common goal: to fight terrorism. But later, since the Americans did not use this base, well, goodbye," Kabulov said on the air of the Ekho Moskvy broadcaster.

"No, never. He [US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad] perfectly understands red lines, as we call it. And then, it is not necessary to discuss this with me," Kabulov said, answering whether the question of resumption of transit had been discussed in contacts with the United States on Afghanistan.