Russia bans NATO military transit to Afghanistan

The Russian government prohibited the NATO forces from supplying Afghanistan with military equipment through Russian territory.

A special order has been issued by the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.

The document revoked the previous decree on NATO cargo transit to Afghanistan. NATO had been allowed to deliver military hardware and equipment via rail, motor vehicles, and through Russian airspace as well.

The Russian Foreign Ministry Lavrov has been ordered to inform all the countries involved.

Transit of military cargo to Afghanistan through Russia was permitted after a 2001 UN Security Council resolution. The document established an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, and called on all countries to support the NATO-led security mission. In 2008 Russia signed a decree allowing ISAF cargo to pass through its territory.

In 2014, though, Washington declared the military operation in Afghanistan being over. The US-led coalition has pulled out most of its forces and the Afghan military has assumed full responsibility for national security. However, while the 2001 resolution has been terminated, some 13,000 ISAF troops will remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2016 to oversee local forces and provide training on counter-terror operations.

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