Russia's offer to provide military air transport support for NATO-led troops in Afghanistan would be welcome, said the alliance on Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday indicated Moscow's willingness to use its military aircraft to help supply the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Commenting on Lavrov's remarks, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the move would be welcome.

"If the Russian Federation wishes to make that offer to NATO, I'm sure it will be looked at very carefully. It is a good sign of good will by the Russian Federation to make this kind of offers," he told a briefing.

A Russian offer would be an indication of shared interest of NATO and Russia in fighting extremism in Afghanistan, he added.

The issue of Russian direct air transport support for ISAF had been extensively discussed in the past. But the discussions were never completed, he said.

Russia has already agreed to allow non-lethal supplies to ISAF on a land transit route through Russian soil. Lavrov also indicated that Moscow may consider allowing the transit of lethal weapons as well.

Appathurai said NATO would welcome such a decision by Russia. "If we move to a stage where more NATO supplies can transit (through Russia), that would be very welcome," he said.

Appathurai said a number of NATO allies have already had bilateral agreements with Russia on the transit of lethal military goods through Russia. NATO is also leasing Russian aircraft operated by private companies for ISAF supplies.

NATO suspended high-level political contacts with Russia following a military conflict between Russia and Georgia in August2008. NATO has recently acted to mend ties with Moscow. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov in Munich last week was the highest level bilateral meeting since August.

Appathurai said Wednesday that there will be one or more informal meetings in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council at ambassadorial level in the run-up to a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in March, where NATO's relations with Russia will be extensively discussed. The end game would be normalization of relations, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2009)