The Uzbek authorities and the United States have come to an agreement on the fate of the military aircraft and helicopters that were ferried from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan in August 2021, said the US Ambassador Jonathan Henick, The Tashkent Times reports.
Replying to the question on whether the aircraft would be given to Uzbekistan, the Ambassador said: "Yes, they will be in Uzbekistan. It is official now."
According to him, the parties are already "implementing a joint program."
The ambassador added that "the aircraft never belonged to Afghanistan, it belonged to the United states." "They (the Afghan army - ed.) used it, but it is us who have always been the owners," the diplomat said.
Earlier this month, the US company Sierra Nevada Corporation received a contract to return to service six Pilatus PC-12 aircraft for Uzbekistan, which were among the aircraft that crossed the border of Uzbekistan.
The project price is $ 64.2 million and is scheduled to be completed in August 2027. The contract will be implemented under the US Foreign Military Sales program.
Last October, the US Ambassador noted that the parties were continuing negotiations on the fate of more than 45 military aircraft and helicopters.
The United States and its allies have provided the Afghan government with a large number of aircraft and helicopters as part of the 20-year military campaign in Afghanistan. During the Taliban's capture of Kabul in August 2021, 22 military aircraft and 24 helicopters (Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano, UH-60 Black Hawk, MD-530, PC-12 and Mi-17), carrying 585 armed Afghan servicemen, illegally crossed Uzbekistan's airspace. In September and November of that year, the pilots were transported to the UAE and then to the United States.
The Afghan caretaker government has repeatedly insisted that the aircraft were the property of Afghanistan. Uzbek authorities have stated that the aircraft and helicopters are U.S. property and cannot be returned.
In September 2022, Politico reported that the U.S. government may hand over some of its military aircraft and helicopters taken from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as part of efforts to “deepen relations on border security and counterterrorism.”
