NATO to move supplies through central Asia

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 5 (UPI) -- NATO says three central Asian countries have agreed to provide supply routes in and out of Afghanistan.

In a news conference Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have agreed to allow NATO to move supplies and equipment through their countries.

"These agreements will give us a range of new options and the robust and flexible transport network we need," Rasmussen said Monday at a news conference. "I thank all three partner countries for their support. And NATO will continue to actively engage with Afghanistan's neighbors to build wider support for the country's stability."

CNN said Pentagon officials are still in talks with Pakistan on reopening supply routes to the country's southern port of Karachi. The land lines were closed last November after NATO forces mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani troops along the Afghan border.

Rasmussen said NATO's transition plan for Afghanistan is moving ahead as scheduled. Afghan army and police are taking the lead for the security for 75 percent of the population and more than 100 districts and cities in Afghanistan will transition to Afghan security responsibility in coming weeks, he said.