Russia, Italy sign agt on air freight transit to Afghanistan via

ROME, February 17 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov and Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa have signed an
inter-governmental agreement on air transit of arms, ammunition, military
hardware, property and personnel via Russia in connection with Italy's
participation in the international reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
The signing ceremony was held on Wednesday evening as part of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Italy.
Lavrov, who had a short meeting with his Italian colleague Franco
Frattini, is a member of the delegation accompanying the president.
The Rome agreement allows Russia's airspace to be used as the
so-called "northern corridor" that passes through Slovenia, Croatia,
Hungary, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and is the
most effective and economical route for material and logistical support to
the Italian contingent in Afghanistan and serves as an alternative to the
air route through the United Arab Emirates," the Italian Foreign Ministry
said in a communique.
The agreement will supplement the document signed during the seventh
round of Russian-Italian inter-governmental consultations in the Russian
Black Sea resort city of Sochi on December 3, 2010, which concerned
railway transit.