OREANDA-NEWS. Members of the Russia-NATO Council will discuss further cooperation in the technical maintenance of Russian helicopters used by the Afghan Air Force next week, NATO Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen said on Friday.

Rasmussen said at a press conference in Brussels that a second phase of the Russia-NATO Council's special fund for the technical maintenance of helicopters in Afghanistan is to be launched.

This will help increase the number of initiatives to make the Afghan Air Force more effective, allowing it to operate on its own, he said.

This program may include measures to augment the Air Force's air ambulance capabilities of critical importance for the Afghan armed forces, Rasmussen said.

Talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are expected to deepen political dialogue and to hold an open discussion of issues of mutual interest, including Afghanistan, North Korea and missile defense, he said.