Russia airlifts arms to Northern Alliance

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, SEPT. 28. Russia has mounted a large-scale operation to airlift arms and ammunition to the Afghan opposition, but has ruled out sending troops to Afghanistan.

Russia's Defence Minister, Mr. Sergei Ivanov, said Russia was carrying the ``main workload'' in providing ``all-round support'' to the anti-Taliban coalition. The Minister said weapons were delivered ``exclusively by air'' and called on the West to share the financial burden of the costly supplies with Russia.

``The Northern Alliance is fond of Soviet-made weapons, knows how to handle them and says it does not need any other weapons, even modern Russian arms,'' the Interfax news agency quoted Mr. Ivanov as telling Russian reporters in Brussels, where he attended a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers. At the same time, he ruled out sending Russian troops to Afghanistan. ``Sending our troops to Afghanistan will be the same if the U.S. sent its troops to Vietnam today,'' Mr. Ivanov said on a visit to Sweden on Friday.

Fresh supplies of Russian arms and military equipment have been instrumental in enabling the Northern Alliance forces to capture ground from the Taliban in recent days. On Friday, Russian media reported that the opposition forces were fighting street battles in Mazaar-e-Sharif and had come within six to 40 km of Kabul. Mr. Ivanov said the Northern Alliance had asked for the old Soviet T-55 tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery systems, and Kalashnikov guns. ``All these are simple but reliable weapons that can withstand sharp changes of temperatures and humidity,'' Mr. Ivanov said.

Russia has large stocks of these and other vintage weapons, some of them dating back to World War II.

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Section  : International
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