MOSCOW. Feb 11 (Interfax-AVN) - Afghan Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim Khan will start his visit to Russia on Monday with negotiations with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov, military diplomatic sources told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The negotiations will focus on military-technical cooperation, they said.
"Khan is supposed to meet Russian Armed Forces Chief-of- Staff Anatoly Kvashnin on Tuesday," a source said.
Later this week, Khan will negotiate with leadership of the Rosoboronexport state-owned arms trader, MIG aircraft production company and Aviaexport foreign trader. His visit to Russia ends on Friday.
"The Afghan army needs supplies of spare parts for armored vehicles. Moreover, its inventory includes MI-8 Hip helicopters and several combat planes such as MIG-21 Fishbed," the source added.
Earlier, Ivanov told Interfax-AVN, "During the negotiations in Moscow we will discuss the process of anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan and our bilateral interaction, including in the development of the Afghan Armed Forces."
The itinerary of Khan's visit envisages his meetings with leadership of the Foreign and Emergencies Ministries, the sources said. "At the forthcoming negotiations we will discuss provision of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, as well as assistance in restoration of its ruined economy and mine clearance of the country's territory," an expert added.
On Friday, Khan will head for the armored vehicles museum located in the village of Kubinka in the Moscow region.
Experts say that Russia supplied USD30m-34m worth of military hardware to troops of the anti-Taliban coalition last year. "The supplies mostly consisted of Soviet-made hardware that performed well in Afghanistan and which is skillfully operated by Afghan servicemen," a Russian military said.
According to him, the Rabbani government received from Russia some 50 T-55 and T-62 tanks, over 80 armored vehicles, these being BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs and BTR-60 APCs, up to 20 ZSU-4- 23 air defense self-propelled system of the 23mm caliber, two batteries of 100mm MT-12 antitank cannons, six batteries of 120mm D-30 howitzers, four batteries of 120mm 2B-11 mortars and three batteries of 82mm 2B9 automatic mortars.
Experts believe that the Northern Alliance also received up to six MI-24 Hind fire support and five MI-8 transport helicopters.