U.S.-Russia Cooperation On Afghanistan
Fact Sheet
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
June 18, 2012
The United States recognizes Russia’s contribution to building a better future for the Afghan people. Our two countries
have developed excellent cooperation that supports Afghan efforts to make Afghanistan a peaceful, stable, and
economically self-sustaining country, free of terrorism and illegal narcotics. We recognize that significant further
international support will be needed to achieve this goal.
We take note of the significant contribution to international security that has resulted from the arrangements between
the United States and Russia – bilaterally and through NATO – to support ground and air transit into and out of
Afghanistan. In accordance with these arrangements, over 2,200 flights, over 379,000 military personnel, and over 45,000
containers of cargo have been transported through Russia in support of operations in Afghanistan.
Russia and the United States continue to expand law-enforcement and counternarcotics cooperation with our Afghan law
enforcement partners. We support a comprehensive approach to reduce the volume of narcotics grown in Afghanistan,
including by providing farmers with alternatives to poppy cultivation and providing continued assistance for Afghan-led
counternarcotics efforts. The United States also praises the work of the NATO-Russia Council counternarcotics program,
which has trained more than 2,000 law-enforcement officers from Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan since 2006.
The United States and Russia continue to face a common threat from terrorism, including from al-Qa’ida and other groups
operating in and around Afghanistan. We are working together to disrupt terrorists’ operational networks and undermine
their access to financial resources.
Together with NATO, the United States and Russia have established the Helicopter Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) to
support Afghanistan’s fleet of Russian-built Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters. In 2012, 30 Afghan helicopter technicians will
travel to Russia for advanced maintenance training, which will enhance the capacity of the Afghan security forces to
keep their fleet of helicopters mission-ready as they assume greater responsibility for Afghanistan’s security. Russia
is working on Dari-language field manuals for these airframes, and Russian experts have provided technical assessments
of the fleet to enable the Afghans to develop a sustainable maintenance plan.
ENDS