Russia to inspect U.S. military cargo

MOSCOW, July 8 (UPI) -- Moscow retains the right to inspect all U.S. military planes flying over Russian territory on the way to Afghanistan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

U.S. President Barack Obama secured a deal to allow military flights over Russia to Afghanistan as part of a broader push to strengthen relations with Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia maintains jurisdiction in the case of ground inspections, RIA Novosti reports.

"Russian jurisdiction will be applied at all times, whenever we so demand," he said. "We have the right to ground any flight to inspect the cargo to see what is actually on board."

He noted, however, that the American side had agreed to the concession, adding it was a transparent mechanism that would not cause any undue delays.

Russia has similar transit agreements with Germany, France and Spain. A 2008 agreement reached with NATO allows non-lethal cargo to cross Russian territory into Afghanistan by rail.

Washington said the overflight rights will save the United States about $133 million through the Kremlin concessions that allow the U.S. military to conduct around 4,500 flights per year.

The deal comes on the heels of a new agreement between the United States and Kyrgyzstan to renew the lease for Manas air base.