Russia said on Tuesday that it had allowed a first shipment of US equipment bound for Afghanistan to cross its territory in support of Western operations in the central Asian country.
A spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry confirmed a report that the train, carrying non-lethal supplies bound for troops in Afghanistan, had crossed Russia and was currently located in Kazakhstan.
“This is the first train, which in accordance with the agreement reached with the United States, is currently headed to Afghanistan,” spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov told AFP.
“It was a train with containers carrying non-military supplies. We feel this is very significant and an example of the kind of cooperation that is possible,” he added.
The US embassy in Moscow confirmed that the train had entered Russia but could not confirm whether it had crossed through into Kazakhstan.
“We can confirm that the train entered Russia…. The train is carrying non-lethal military goods such as construction supplies,” a US embassy spokesman told AFP.
Relations between Moscow and Washington have shown some signs of warming under the new US administration of President Barack Obama, with officials touting Afghanistan as a possible area of cooperation.
On Friday the two countries” top diplomats — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — are due to have their first bilateral meeting since Obama took office in late January.
