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MOSCOW, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Russia's Rosoboronexport has completed its delivery of 63 Mi-17V-5 military-transport helicopters to the Afghan National Army.

The helicopters were produced for Afghanistan under a 2011 contract between Rosoboronexport and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The aircraft were manufactured by Kazan Helicopters, part of Russian Helicopters.

"Rosoboronexport proved itself a reliable supplier of military helicopters, and in implementing the contract to supply Mi-17V-5 helicopters to Afghanistan was highly evaluated by its U.S. partners." Russian Helicopters said. "Mi-8/17 helicopters have shown that they perform well in Afghanistan, with its challenging climate and mountainous areas."

The Mi-17, which NATO has designated as the Hip, is a twin-turbine aircraft, which comes in transport and gunship variants. It has a maximum speed of 155 miles per hour and a range of 289 miles. It is flown by dozens of countries around the world.

Russian Helicopters said Russia's Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation ready to discuss with the United States potential future supplies of Mi-type helicopters to Afghanistan, as well as well as maintenance and after-sales servicing.

The Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) is a federal executive body responsible for control and oversight in the field of military-technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and foreign countries.

Rosboronexport, part of the Rostec State Corporation, is Russia's intermediary agency for the import and export of defense products and services.

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Russia completes helicopter deliveries to Afghanistan

The U.S. sees China playing a valuable role in providing security assistance in Afghanistan as foreign troops start withdrawing from the country, a State Department official said.

China is a critical player in this region and has an important role to play in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan, the official said today by phone from Beijing, where he will attend a meeting of the Istanbul Process on economic and security matters in Afghanistan. The official asked not to be identified in line with protocol.

The U.S. welcomes Chinas leadership role in hosting the meeting, a regional platform established in 2011 to encourage cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbors, he said. Chinese premier Li Keqiang and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai will preside over the conference, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Chinas economic role in helping reconstruct the country is important and it has a great amount to offer, the official said. It can also help with security assistance and the reconciliation process, he said.

Afghanistan is seeking stability as the U.S. reduces the number of troops in the country over the next few years to a small number of military training personnel and counter-terrorism forces. China is poised to play a larger role in Afghanistan, long seen as primarily a U.S. responsibility after its 2001 invasion. The two countries share a 91-kilometer (57-mile) mountainous border near Pakistan and Tajikistan.

The past five years have seen an increased convergence of interest between the U.S. and China in their cooperation on Afghanistan, which officials in Washington describe as a positive part of Sino-U.S. relations. The cooperation has become broader and deeper, and the discussions have included a range of security-related issues, such as China providing additional support to the Afghan National Security Forces.

The involvement of the Peoples Liberation Army in providing additional support is something to be discussed between the Afghan and Chinese government, the senior official added.

The new Afghan president Ghani chose China for his first state visit after he took office last month. Chinese President Xi Jinping called the former World Bank economist, who used to travel to China frequently, an old friend and said at their summit on Tuesday it marked a new era in ties between two countries.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ting Shi in Hong Kong at tshi31@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net Neil Western, Daniel Ten Kate

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