UK seeks transit accords to ship home Afghan kit

Reuters - UK Focus – Tue, Feb 28, 2012

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-seeks-transit-accords-ship-185003338.html;_ylt=Ai1t84fsJA3QgPZnz7qIoT7EfMl_;_ylu=X3oDMTFxMHRqaTRmBG1pdANJbmZpbml0ZSBCcm93c2UgVGV4dARwb3MDMgRzZWMDTWVkaWFJbmZpbml0ZUJyb3dzZUxpc3Q-;_ylg=X3oDMTJyNTBjZnBwBGludGwDZ2IEbGFuZwNlbi1nYgRwc3RhaWQDNDNjZDBjZTQtYjkyNy0zNDNlLTgxNGQtZjg5MGY4MmZjOWE5BHBzdGNhdAN1awRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2UEdGVzdAM-;_ylv=3

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Britain is seeking transit accords with central Asian countries to enable it to ship billions of dollars of military equipment home from Afghanistan after 2014 while lessening its reliance on the uncertain Pakistan route, officials said on Tuesday.

Pakistan shut down a key overland supply route for NATO troops in Afghanistan last November (Stuttgart: A0Z24E - news) after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a U.S. air attack on the Afghan border, sending U.S.-Pakistan relations plunging.

The closure underlined the importance of having alternative routes to supply NATO forces in Afghanistan.

British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond visited Kazakhstan on Monday where he signed an agreement allowing overflight access to transport military equipment to and from Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defence said.

Hammond and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev also agreed to start negotiations on an agreement allowing military equipment to be transported overland.

The agreements are intended to give British forces a route to ship some 11,000 containers and 3,000 armoured vehicles back to Britain once its force in Afghanistan, currently numbering some 9,500 troops, ends combat operations in 2014.

Hammond was meeting senior figures in the Uzbekistan government on Tuesday to discuss negotiating an agreement on a northern supply route through that country to get military equipment out of Afghanistan.

"It's vital that we secure the supply lines we need to get our equipment home as combat operations finish by the end of 2014. We have a major logistical operation to undertake ... and we will need to work with our partners in the region to do so," Hammond said in a statement.

Military equipment could be sent thousands of miles by rail to Baltic ports to be shipped to Britain, according to reports.

Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey will visit Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan this week for more discussions on transit routes and broader defence relations.

Britain offers the central Asian countries places on military training courses in Britain as well as English language training. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Karolina Tagaris)