Russian envoy defends transit of NATO goods to Afghanistan

MOSCOW, April 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's envoy to NATO responded on Monday to criticism over the use of the country's territory for the transit of supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan, saying the deliveries were purely non-military.

Dmitry Rogozin also said that military-level ties with NATO, which were severed after Russia's war with Georgia last summer, could be re-established after ministerial meetings of the Russia-NATO council, to be held between May 18 and June 6.

Speaking at a Moscow-Brussels video linkup hosted by RIA Novosti, Rogozin said the supplies to Afghanistan via Russia's territory, which began at the end of February, are "standard commercial deliveries, going from one side to the other."

"I do not believe that the transit of toilet rolls via rail through Russia for NATO's use in Afghanistan constitutes a betrayal of the motherland," he said.

However, he warned that if any suspicions arose over the content of the freight containers, officials reserve the right to search them.

"If there are suspicions that the names of goods being transported in these containers do not correspond to our own information, we have the full right to open these containers," he said.

Russia "will not allow any freight to pass that has not been inventoried with the agreement of the Russian side," he added.

On next month's ministerial meeting with NATO, Rogozin said that if it is successful, "it is possible that afterwards, Russia's political leadership will decide to re-establish cooperation on military lines."

He also said Russia was ready to discuss "any issues" at the meeting.

Speaking last Friday ahead of a NATO summit, U.S. President Barack Obama urged Western powers to recognize Russia's interests.

"It is important for NATO allies to engage Russia, and to recognize that they have legitimate interests. In some case we have common interests, but we also have some core disagreements," he said.

While hinting at a resumption of ties with NATO, the Russian envoy said that the country was not considering resuming its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty.

The Cold War-era Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, which regulates the deployment of non-nuclear weapons between the Atlantic and the Urals, has become a source of tension between Russia and NATO, with the Western alliance refusing to ratify its updated version and Russia subsequently imposing a moratorium on the treaty.