U.S., Russia Seek Return of Afghan Weapons

In an attempt to reduce the level of violence as the Afghan civil war moves into its final hours, the United States and Russia are trying to get back some of the weapons--worth billions of dollars--that Washington and the former Soviet Union poured into the country during more than a decade of conflict.

State Department spokeswoman Margaret Tutwiler said Wednesday that the decision to try to recapture some of the arms was part of the agreement, announced last September, to stop new arms shipments to the Soviet-installed Afghan government and the U.S.-backed moujahedeen guerrillas.

But Tutwiler refused to say how many weapons have been returned. Such information, she said, is “a very classified, sensitive matter.” She also declined to define “major weapons systems.”

Another State Department official said that the phrase clearly applies to tanks, aircraft and Soviet-made Scud missiles and excludes small arms and ammunition. But the official would not say whether U.S.-made Stinger antiaircraft missiles--a small but deadly shoulder-fired weapon--are included.

The U.S. government has never officially revealed the extent of its military assistance to the moujahedeen , but informed sources have put it at about $250 million a year.