According to John Mark, US Ambassador to Tajikistan, Washington and Dushanbe are discussing the fate of helicopters evacuated from Afghanistan.
The remarks were made by the US ambassador at a news conference on Wednesday, May 11.
According to the US official, Washington does not want to hand over the helicopters to the Taliban regime. John Mark did not go into detail about the discussion.
Following the fall of Kabul, Afghan pilots flew tens of helicopters to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
An anonymous US official said the US had purchased the helicopters for the Afghan Air Force and that the Pentagon was now making a final decision on them.
The Pentagon said in January that the helicopters would not be delivered to Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s Defense Minister had demanded the helicopters’ return.
Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Yaqub Mujahid has cautioned Tajikistan and Uzbekistan that if Afghanistan’s helicopters were not returned, they would have to wait for a response.
According to the SIGAR’s quarterly report, many former Afghan Air Force personnel have joined the Taliban.
According to a Pentagon statement, much of the $ 18.6 billion in equipment handed to Afghan forces since 2005 has been destroyed in combat operations.
