RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT REQUEST TO ENTER BAGRAM AIR

UNCLAS STATE 004829 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL OPDC RS AF SUBJECT: RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT REQUEST TO ENTER BAGRAM AIR FORCE BASE, AFGHANISTAN 1.(SBU) Please deliver the following message from Secretary Rice to Foreign Minister Lavrov. There will be no signed original. 2.(SBU) Begin Text: Dear Mr. Minister: Thank you for your letter regarding a visit by Russian personnel to Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan, to view an obelisk commemorating Soviet airmen. We welcome a visit to the base by the Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan and his in-country staff in order to view the monument. Reconstruction or removal of the obelisk, however. can only take place after an understanding is reached with the Afghan government. I hope this step will help advance your efforts to ensure the appropriate commemoration of Soviet airmen. Sincerely, Condoleezza Rice RICE