MOSCOW: Russia said Thursday it was looking into a NATO request for access to an airport facility that the Western military bloc could use to ship non-combat supplies to and from Afghanistan.
But the foreign ministry stressed that NATO would never be allowed to set up a formal base at the Vostochny (Eastern) airport outside the city of Ulyanovsk on the Volga River or keep soldiers stationed on Russian soil.
"We are not talking about any military bases or facilities," the ministry said in a statement. "We are not assuming the presence of NATO personnel."
Reports that NATO could be granted historic access to a Russian facility have created an uproar among some generals and nationalist politicians who still view the bloc as Moscow's foe from Cold War times.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday the plan envisioned NATO using the base "not only to move equipment and hardware but also personnel" -- a comment leading some Russian media to speculate that Western troops would be station stationed on the Volga.
The Russian government's pointman on military cooperation issues stressed on Thursday that no decision on the base had been reached in any case.
"This issue has still not been decided by the government," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told Radio Mayak.
The foreign ministry said it was backing the agreement and preparing the necessary paperwork for the government.
Russia granted NATO overflight permission for its Afghan missions in 2001 and followed that up with a 2008 deal on rail and road transfers of non-combat equipment.
But the bloc is now seeking to supply goods by multiple means of transport amd hoping to use te airport as a hub.
Rogozin said the agreement under discussions would see NATO use a Russian cargo airline for flights to and from Afghanistan. He added that the ground shipments would be made using regular civilian rail service.
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