US Cancels Russian Helicopter Purchase Plans

The Pentagon has scrapped plans to buy Russian helicopters for the Afghan Air Force from Rosoboronexport, a state-owned arms exporter that also sells weapons to Syria.

The Pentagon’s plans to buy additional 15 Russian Mi-17 helicopters for $345 million appears to end for now.

"I applaud the Defense Department's decision to finally cancel its plan to buy additional helicopters from Rosoboronexport," US Senator John Cornyn, Texas Republican, said in a statement.

"Doing business with the supplier of these helicopters has been a morally bankrupt policy, and as a nation, we should no longer be subsidizing Assad's war crimes," Cornyn said.

Russia insists that it is only abiding by its existing agreements with Syria and that the deliveries do not violate international law.

A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to RIA Novosti on Wednesday that the United States does not have plans to purchase additional Mi-17s from Rosoboronexport beyond previous orders.

Earlier, the Pentagon had planned to purchase 63 new Mi-17s from Rosoboronexport for nearly $1.1 billion, according to Reuters. It is unclear how many of those 63 have been delivered.

The US government had defended the decision to buy Mi-17s as the fastest way to outfit the Afghan Air Force before most U.S. troops leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.