Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said that Russia offered the United States to help with Afghanistan, but the Americans themselves did not ask for such assistance.
During the Senate hearings, he was asked about the possibility of using Russian military facilities in Central Asia for counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan.
“Senator, this issue, as far as I know, was raised in a conversation between the President (of the United States, Joe Biden) and President (of Russia, Vladimir) Putin, what Putin offered, offered to provide assistance,” Austin said.
He added that “we are not asking the Russians for anything.”
According to US media reports, the topic of Russian bases was discussed at a recent meeting in Helsinki between the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milli and his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov.