BRUSSELS. Dec 4 (Interfax) - NATO values the Russian offer of cargo transit from Afghanistan via Ulyanovsk but cannot ignore the high cost of this project, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday.
He told a press conference after the Russia-NATO Council meeting that all the NATO member states were grateful for the Russian transit offer.
The commercial aspect of this project shall not be overlooked either, he said.
There are a number of impediments to the use of this transit center; NATO thinks it is very expensive, Rasmussen continued.
In his words, efforts are being made to resolve the problems, but each member country will make its own decision about the route for withdrawing its cargo from Afghanistan.
Russian Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko told Interfax earlier that the terms of use of the Ulyanovsk airport's logistic infrastructure for NATO transit and the price of the combined-route shipment of containers would be the subjects of commercial negotiations.