Afghanistan does not need Russian helicopters any longer - Defense Minister

Almaty. November 10. Silkroadnews - Afghanistan does not need Russian helicopters any longer, as helicopters are delivered from NATO states, acting minister of defense of Afghanistan Tariq Bahrami said, the Afghan Telegraph Agency (AfTAG) reports.
“Previously, we used to buy helicopters from Russia and also Russia supplied equipment for repairs. Now we get helicopters produced by NATO countries, thus, there is no need in delivery of Russian helicopters,” he said.
“However, while switching from Russian helicopters to the NATO ones we need some help, specifically we need high-quality servicing of Russian fleet in service. Now this service is carried out not by licensing companies, but through some other countries,” TASS quoted Bahrami saying.
The so-called helicopter package, in which NATO through a special trust fund acquired helicopters from Russia, including Mi-8 specially adapted for the conditions of Afghanistan, was one of the major directions of cooperation between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance before freezing on the initiative of the alliance in 2014.