Uzbekistan refuses to return helicopters to Taliban

Earlier, reports had circulated claiming that Uzbekistan had agreed to return the military helicopters taken out of Afghanistan in August 2021, when the then-government collapsed, to the country’s current Taliban-led interim administration. However, Ahror Burkhanov, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, denied these reports.

According to him, the information does not correspond to reality.

The US Department of Defense had confirmed that, following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, 46 aircraft and helicopters were flown to Uzbekistan and another 18 to Tajikistan. These aircraft included Mi-17 and UH-60 helicopters, as well as PC-12, C-208, AC-208, and A-29 fixed-wing planes.

The Taliban has repeatedly demanded that both countries hand over the aircraft, but officials in Tashkent and Dushanbe have not provided any public comment on these requests.

According to the statement provided earlier by the US ambassador, under a new agreement, the 46 aircraft that landed in Uzbekistan would remain under the country’s control. Meanwhile, the US Embassy for Afghanistan expressed its gratitude to Tajikistan for not transferring the former Afghan military aircraft to the Taliban.

According to a former Afghan security commander, the United States had supplied Afghanistan’s air force with a total of 229 helicopters, including both combat and transport aircraft before the Taliban seized power.