U.S. could leave military hardware in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan after pulling out of Afghanistan - newspaper
MOSCOW. June 15 (Interfax) - After the U.S. and NATO withdraw their troops from Afghanistan in 2014, U.S. military hardware could be left in these Central Asian states, expanding Washington's cooperation with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) members bypassing Moscow, Kommersant reported on Friday.
The Pentagon is exploring idea of leaving military hardware and equipment currently being used by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan after 2014, Kommersant said citing sources close to these Central Asian countries' military establishments.
Some of this materiel could be given to these countries for free and some left for safe storage.
Kommersant suggested that the matter implies armored vehicles, trailers for the transportation of tanks, tractor trucks, fuel trucks, graders, bulldozers, and water trucks. The Pentagon is also willing to give Afghanistan's neighbors medical and communications equipment, fire extinguishing devices, and even mobile gyms and other utilities.
The Kyrgyz Defense Ministry confirmed the fact of negotiations with the Pentagon to Kommersant.
The Pentagon has concluded that it would be unreasonable either to return most of this hardware home or leave it in Afghanistan, the newspaper says.
First, the U.S. is concerned that if the Taliban comes to power in Afghanistan, these weapons would fall into the hands of America's bitterest enemies. Second, some of the hardware is not worth the cost of transporting it. Third, the U.S. presumes that the military equipment currently in use in Afghanistan should not be taken too far from the region, as it could be necessary again in Afghanistan, the Central Asia or Pakistan, it said.
Kabul is seeking to persuade the U.S. military command to leave as much hardware and materiel as possible for the Afghan national armed forces' needs, Kommersant said citing a source from the Afghan presidential secretariat.
Through the negotiations with the Afghan neighbors, the U.S. could obtain preferences regarding the transit of cargo and the presence of its troops in the region, Kommersant says.
Therefore, the newspaper goes on to say, the U.S. prefers to discuss these issues bilaterally, without involving regional organizations like the CSTO.
The CSTO presidents agreed at a summit on December 20, 2011 that the deployment of foreign military infrastructural facilities on their territories must be agreed upon between all of the CSTO members.
"This scenario [the transfer of military hardware by the Pentagon to Central Asian states] is absolutely unacceptable to Russia, as it goes against the agreements with our partners in Central Asia and obviously runs counter to the agreements within the CSTO framework," Kommersant quoted a diplomatic source as saying.