Updated 27.10.2001 at 02:19:19 Russia Confirms Military Supplies To Afghanistan http://www.allnews.ru/english/2001/10/27/confirm/ Russia's Defence Ministry has confirmed that Russia is supplying the Northern Alliance with military equipment, RIA Novosti news agency reported. A Ministry representative told journalists these supplies are provided by an international military- technical cooperation programme. The official revealed no further details. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov stated earlier that Russia had been supplying military equipment to Afghanistan all this time. Russia "has been rendering assistance to the Northern Alliance standing against Taliban's ideology that is very similar to Nazism", Ivanov said that time. He told a meeting of the Federation Council on October 10 that the Northern Alliance needed simple, safe and tested weapons and equipment like Russia's T-55 tanks. At the same time Ivanov told that participation of Russian military forces in Afghanistan would be impossible. Even Russian military instructors will not be involved in the Afghan campaign to train Northern Alliance fighters to handle military equipment, Ivanov added. Ivanov also stressed that it would be a mistake for outside powers to try to install a government in Afghanistan. Meanwhile some Russian news agencies reported that Russian troops had already been staying near Kabul. The former Soviet Union fought a decade-long war with Afghanistan and all efforts to keep pro-Soviet Afghan governments in power just failed. --- Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
