ST.PETERSBURG/MOSCOW. July 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Afghan Defense Minster Mohammad Fahim will begin his trip to Russia with a visit to the Defense Ministry's helicopter repair plant in St. Petersburg.
The Afghan delegation will visit the plant "to familiarize itself with the services it can offer to repair Afghan army helicopters," a source in the Leningrad Military District told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Fahim will visit the Military Communication University and hold talks with Leningrad Military District Commander Army General Valentin Bobryshev on Thursday, the military district reports.
A Defense Ministry source said Fahim will leave for Moscow on Thursday evening to hold talks with senior Russian military officials on the future of the two countries' defense contacts.
"In particular, the talks will address the volumes of gratuitous Russian military technical aid that was promised before - planes, communication assets, automobiles and spare parts for it, fuel and lubricants, as well as the arrangement of repairs and upgrade of armament and military hardware in the Afghan army's inventory," the source said.
"In addition, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will discuss with Marshal Fahim the current situation in Afghanistan and its development prospects," he noted.
According to the Defense Ministry, more than 90 percent of armament and military hardware used by the Afghan Armed Forces were made in Russia and the Soviet Union.