According to Komersant, Russia and USA have come to an agreement regarding contract on delivery of 21 Mi-17 combat helicopters to Afghanistan. Moscow and Washington intend to sign an agreement in the near future. NATO has intended to acquire these vehicles earlier for the needs of Kabul, but it has not found any spare money. The total amount of the contract between Russia and USA is $367,5 million.

The special governmental representative of Federal Republic of Germany on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mikhael Shtiner, head of international contact group on Afghanistan, told that Russia and USA have finally come to an agreement regarding this contract. According to him the contract includes the delivery of 21 vehicles. Furthermore, Moscow and NATO are discussing the technical maintenance of these helicopters using assets from the trust fund being created by the alliance (Berlin has already allocated $3 million for this purpose).The decision on creation of this fund has been made during summit of NATO in Lisbon in November. It is intended to use money from this fund for creating depot maintenance shop and training center for Afghan pilots, supplies of fuel, spare parts and arms. The final amount of this fund will be specified after the other countries' contribution will be made.

According to Shtiner, "there are no political barriers for this project ".

The executive officer of Afghan air forces, General Abdul Vahab Vardak has confirmed the information that the contract has entered its final phase. "Americans told me that the contract will be signed in the nearest future. 21 Mi-17 helicopters will be delivered to our air forces, he said. We expect to receive the first helicopters by the end of this year, since we have a great demand in them. Mi-17s are the most suitable for our conditions than any other helicopters and our pilots are familiar with these vehicles. We have been using them since 1980s. I have been trained in USSR to pilot these helicopters and I know what I am saying ".

Moscow expects the agreement to be signed very soon. "The contract has not been signed yet. We are negotiating with the American party ", reported the source close to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Rosoboronexport and Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not commented this topic.