US holds talks on arms handover to Central Asia: report

MOSCOW: The US military is in talks with several Central Asian countries to transfer some of their military hardware to them after they pull out of Afghanistan, a Russian newspaper reported Friday.

The report, in Kommersant newspaper, provoked an angry response from one Russian official.

The military of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan were in “closed talks” with the Pentagon about receiving armoured vehicles, tank trailers, and other specialized equipment, Kommersant reported.

Some of it would be handed over for free while other items would be for safe storage, the report said, citing sources close to, or inside the various respective armies.