Russia Lets U.S. Supplies Through To Afghanistan

The base has been an important staging post for the U.S.-led military campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Russia will let the United States send supplies across its territory to Afghanistan and offer flexible support, a top Moscow diplomat said on Wednesday, a day after Kyrgyzstan decided to close down a U.S. military airbase.

Moscow had in recent days responded in principle to a United States request to provide logistical support to aid Washington's forces in Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said in a conference call with reporters.

"We positively reacted to the request of the United States for the transit through Russia of goods and materials to Afghanistan," Karasin said.

"We will be flexible in many other ways which will support our joint success in Afghanistan -- that would be the basic school of thinking from which we will proceed," said Karasin.

Karasin rejected any link between a $2 billion aid package from Moscow to Bishkek with the decision of the Central Asian country to order the closure of the U.S. Manas airbase there.

The base has been an important staging post for the U.S.-led military campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.