NATO has sufficient backing for new mission in Afghanistan, not seeking transit deals with Russia - source
BRUSSELS. May 18 (Interfax) - NATO was not looking to extend its former transit agreements with Russia and negotiate new transit mechanisms for its Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, a NATO official told Interfax in Brussels on Monday.
He recalled that NATO had signed transit agreements with a number of countries to support the efforts of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
"The NATO/Russia transit arrangements covered the movement of ISAF military equipment and were specific to ISAF and UNSCR 1386. These transit arrangements were commercial in nature. They expired on 31 December 2014, which is when ISAF was officially concluded," the source said.
"The ISAF redeploymenet is effectively complete," he said.
"Sufficient support arrangements have been set up with respect to the new NATO-led Resolute Support mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, which was launched on 1 January 2015," he said.
"In light of that NATO has not sought to extend transit arrangements with Russia on ISAF or to negotiate new arrangements for Resolute Support," the NATO official said.