Military air transit to Afghanistan via Russia has not begun yet -- FM.

MOSCOW, September 7 (Itar-Tass) -- Air transit of military cargoes
through Russia for the coalition forces in Afghanistan has not begun yet,
Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov said on Monday.
"We have not received any requests from the American side. Air transit
of military cargoes has not begun yet. We are waiting for appropriate
requests from the American side," he said.
Moscow considers the operation being carried out by the United States
and other countries in Afghanistan from the point of view of the fight
against terrorism, the deputy spokesman said.
"We confirm all of the obligations we have assumed under the agreement
and are ready to work," the diplomat said.
Russia and Washington signed the inter-governmental agreement on the
transit of arms, military hardware, military property and personnel
through Russia in early July in connection with the participation of the
U.S. Armed Forces in the efforts to ensure security, stabilisation and
reconstruction in Afghanistan.
"We are prepared for full-scale cooperation with our American and
other partners, including in terms of transit. We are ready to help in
different fields," President Dmitry Medvedev said.
He said he "appreciates the efforts the U.S. is taking together with
other countries in order to prevent the terrorist threat that emanates and
unfortunately still emanates to a large extent from Afghanistan".
The U.S. and Russia made an agreement on military transit to
Afghanistan. It was signed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and
U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns.
The agreement calls for 4,500 flights a year and supplements the
previous agreement on non-military transit.
The agreement will enable the U.S. to further diversify the crucial
transportation routes and decrease the amount of time needed to move
troops and critical equipment to resupply international forces in
Afghanistan and to bring needed supplies to the government and people of
Afghanistan. This will permit 4,500 flights per year. The new transit
routes will save the United States government up to 133 million U.S.
dollars annually in fuel, maintenance and other transportation costs, and
this agreement is free of any air navigation charges. By providing access
to these transit routes, the Russian Federation is enabling a substantial
increase in the efficiency of our common effort to defeat the forces of
violent extremism in Afghanistan and to ensure Afghanistan's and the
broader region's security, the White House said.
Conflict and instability in Afghanistan are a threat to the region and
the world. The growing flow of narcotics from Afghanistan threatens the
well-being of Europe and Central Asia, and provides a source of lucrative
funding for terrorists and criminals throughout the region, it said.
The Russian Federation's decision to open these valuable transit
routes supplements its already robust airlift support and provision of
commodities to Coalition efforts in Afghanistan, and further illustrates
that Russia is a valuable member of the international coalition supporting
the security, stability, and reconstruction of Afghanistan, the White
House statement said.
"The topic of Russian-U.S. cooperation on the Afghan track is
extremely important and this is why we gave so much attention top this
issue at the talks. We have just signed the agreement on transit. This is
an important topic and we will certainly continue cooperation with our
American partners," he said.
"The current situation in Afghanistan is not simple. I do not want to
say that it s deteriorating, but there is no progress in many respects or
it is ephemeral," he added.
"I don't know how quickly the situation can be changed. It will depend
to a large extent on how fast the political system in Afghanistan evolves
and how much progress the Afghan government makes in the economy. Right
now it's all very complicated there," Medvedev said.
The current situation in Afghanistan differs from the situation when
the Soviet military contingent was deployed in that country, Medvedev said.
Russia is ready to "cooperate with the alliance's forces, but not in
military terms -- we will not do that - but in terms of counter-terrorist
cooperation," he said.
"We have allowed both civilian and military transit for a number of
European countries. We will discuss transit to Afghanistan with [U.S.]
President [Barack] Obama who will come here next week," the president said.
"I think that this is our contribution to the resolution of the
problem of terrorism, including on the Afghan track," he added.
However he believes this would not be enough. "It is necessary to
restore the political system in Afghanistan and build a modern society
there, but taking into account Afghan specificities, create new jobs and
fight drugs," Medvedev said.
"Only then can terrorism be defeated. This is why we would like to
make some input, too," he said.
Russia is "at the forefront of repelling threats and the terrorist
menace because a part of rebels simply penetrate our country from that
territory through Central Asia, and the drug threat that goes into Russia
the same way and seeks to reach Europe, of course," Medvedev said.
He pointed out the fact that "the military component alone won't bring
any success".
A success "can accompany those who help Afghans to build their own
state and their own modern society, taking into account, I emphasise,
Afghan traditions, and a developed economy", he said.
The use of force "is a road to nowhere because the situation will
become more complicated and will degrade every year."