Reported by: Soha CRWE Newswire Middle East Correspondent

It seems like the Red Army may return to Afghanistan. A plan is under consideration by NATO to involve Russia in Afghanistan again. An alliance summit of NATO is scheduled to take place next month and Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, is expected to attend it.

The concerned officials have said that several joint Russian-NATO initiatives in Afghanistan are under consideration. These initiatives include the contribution of helicopters and crews from Russia to train Afghan pilots.

Besides this, Russia will also provide assistance in training Afghan national security forces, increasing cooperation in border security, improving transit, and supplying routes for NATO to counter-narcotics.

The Secretary General of NATO, Andres Fogh Rasmussen, said that Russian helicopters were better adaptable to the Afghan conditions as compared to their western equivalents.

The Russians have gained great experience in flying helicopters during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

But acceptance by the Afghan government is also very important. According to an official, the attitude of the Afghan government and that of President of Hamid Karzai is very important.

One of the western diplomats, while commenting on the news, said that despite having the ability to create difficulties for the US, Russia is actually trying to play a positive role.

It is noteworthy that the latest agreements with Russia also include negotiations on the provision of a possible supply route for NATO supplies. Over the past few months NATO tankers have been increasingly attacked by insurgents in Pakistan so NATO is searching for a safer route via a Central Asian state like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Russia has also raised concerns regarding heroin being smuggled into Russia though Afghanistan.

Russian Prime Minister Medvedev indicated that he desires to strengthen relations with the West, and is hopeful that an understanding can be reached regarding these issues.