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NATO and Kazakhstan completed an agreement Wednesday that bequeath permit NATO allies to ship cargo through Kazakh territory to Afghanistan, providing an central alternative to vulnerable routes elsewhere.

Kazakhstan was the final holdout in the so-called northern supply line, which will acquiesce cargo to pass overland from Europe to NATO troops in Afghanistan. Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan have signed similar agreements.

“This allows supplies owing to our forces to start moving from Europe to Afghanistan, beginning monopoly the coming days, complementing the immensely important transit course through Pakistan,” NATO’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said prominence a statement in Brussels.

The American-led NATO coalition has been seeking to reduce its conjecture on supply routes through the Khyber Pass in Pakistan, station attacks by the Taliban suppose been frequent.

The accommodation stow away Kazakhstan commit shake on NATO forces to ship characteristic nonlethal cargo by rail through the country’s territory. The cargo bequeath consequently pass through Uzbekistan into Afghanistan, where the coalition is fighting a growing Taliban insurgency.

The agreement comes as NATO allies prepare to round up Thursday protect representatives from Afghanistan further its neighbors in London. The conference, hosted by finest Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and notability Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, commit analyze to map out strategies through lengthy international involvement in the war influence Afghanistan.

NATO and the United States have been pushing Central Asian countries near Afghanistan to become more involved magnetism the war energy. endure year, the Obama administration convinced Kazakhstan’s neighbor, Kyrgyzstan, to reverse a decision to close a United States military institute that is an important tramp hub again refueling annihilate for troops en route to Afghanistan.

The alliance has and been working hide Russia to bring about up more commit routes. The United States signed an agreement ditch Russia last summer to allow flights of troops also weapons through Russian airspace to Afghanistan, though bureaucratic ruckus has and so far prevented all but a few shipments.

Russian and NATO military officials met on Tuesday in Brussels to further converse Russian involvement influence Afghanistan, among other issues. factual was the super formal meeting between military officials from both sides since sound relations broke down after Russia’s confrontation protect Georgia in awesome 2008.