The United States has asked Russia to provide Russian bases on the border with Afghanistan to track terrorist threats in this country, writes the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
According to the publication, this topic was discussed last week during a meeting in Helsinki by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Mark Milli, and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov.
The details of the negotiations were published shortly before the speech by Millie and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
According to the publication, the United States appealed to many Central Asian countries, in particular Pakistan, with a request to provide bases for counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, but did not find a response.
US officials, who did not want to be named, told the WSJ that General Milli asked Gerasimov to convey to Russian President Vladimir Putin a request from the White House National Security Council regarding the bases.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces and the Pentagon did not comment on the message.
The United States is legally prohibited from military cooperation with Russia.