MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and the U.S. will hold consultations in Moscow on Wednesday for the first time after the new U.S. administration took office.
The U.S. Embassy to Russia had told Interfax earlier that the U.S. and Russia had been holding discussions over the previous several weeks on such issues as ways to expand cooperation in Afghanistan as part of the Russia-NATO transit agreement, interaction on providing military and other assistance to Afghanistan, and joint measures against terrorism and drug trafficking.
A delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Patrick Moon will visit Moscow on February 10-11 to discuss these issues more thoroughly, it said.
Russia granted NATO the right to transport non-military cargoes for its soldiers in Afghanistan through Russian territory in April 2008, and the embassy said Russia gave its consent to the first of these supplies several weeks ago. The two parties are now analyzing logistical details to begin transit, it said.