MOSCOW. March 5 (Interfax) - Russia-NATO cooperation in the transportation of alliance cargo using Russian planes and helicopters has vast prospects, First Deputy Director of the Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service Alexander Fomin said in an interview with the VVP (GDP) journal which was posted on the federal service's website.
"First of all, there is the question of Afghanistan where the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Afghan national army have a shortage of helicopters. Helicopters made in the former Soviet Union and Russia have proven their worth under the complex conditions of Afghanistan and remain in demand," he said.
The Russian heavy cargo helicopter, Mil Mi-26, which has no foreign analogs, is in the biggest demand by NATO, he said. "U.S. President Barack Obama personally thanked a Mi-26T crew for assisting U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan in late 2009," Fomin said.
Russia is also ready to help with the delivery of NATO cargo from Europe and the United States to combat zones, he said. Three C-17 aircraft belonging to the alliance and an Antonov An-124 'Ruslan' of Ruslan SALIS GmgH are unable to cope with the entire bulk of NATO logistic operations. "Russia has plenty of such aircraft, so cooperation is promising," he said.
As for long-term military and technical cooperation with NATO, "things are worse than we would like them to be," Fomin said. "In my opinion, Russia is more flexible than NATO. Both sides allege their desires to cooperate but no practical steps have been taken as yet," he said.