NATO forces are to transport millions of dollars’ worth of military equipment through Russia once they leave Afghanistan, a leading Russian newspaper reported on Friday, February 3.

Talks between NATO and the Russian government for a transportation route running through the Ural Mountains city of Ulyanovsk are in their “final stages,” and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will approve the route in the near future, the Kommersant newspaper reported, citing Russian Foreign Ministry officials.

NATO plans to send most of its equipment and supplies by air to Ulyanovsk, some 730 kilometres south-east of the capital Moscow, for further transfer onto rail. Russian civilian cargo planes would also participate in the airlift, the report said.

NATO material would then cross western Russia before reaching NATO members Lithuania or Estonia. M&C reported quoting DPA.

Unlike other NATO countries in Europe, the Baltic republics operate national railroads with a track gauge identical to Russia’s. Rail freight travelling from Russia to other European countries requires transfer onto a different-gauge rail car, slowing the shipment and increasing cost.

Talks on NATO’s return shipment routes have been going on for 18 months, according to Kommersant.

NATO in recent months has faced difficulties supplying its forces in Afghanistan via land routes because of Taliban attacks on lorries entering the country from Pakistan.

A longstanding ban enforced by Russia and most Central Asian states on the shipment of NATO weaponry through their territories, as well as poor roads into Afghanistan's north, have left NATO logistics planners with limited options.