Lavrov however criticised "indiscriminate" Western air raids in the war-torn country in comments published in an Afghan government newspaper, a transcript of which was distributed by the foreign ministry in Moscow.

"At this stage the presence in Afghanistan of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), uniting basically the US military contingent and NATO allies, is a factor restraining terrorism and in this regard is in Afghanistan's interests," Lavrov said according to the transcript.

"On this basis Russia decided to allow the use of its territory for over-land transit of non-military supplies to ISAF," he said.

Earlier this month, Russia allowed a first shipment of US equipment bound for Afghanistan to cross its territory in support of Western operations here.

The minister visited Afghanistan 20 years after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union following a bitter resistance to its 10-year occupation which left about 1.5 million people dead and many more in exile.

He added that "together with the United States, we are examining the possibility of carrying out in Afghanistan projects in the energy and transport sphere."

But he went on however to criticise civilian deaths caused by Western air strikes.

"Repeated instances of deaths among the civil population as a result of foreign military operations are a cause for serious concern," Lavrov said.

"In this respect we consider an agreement reached between NATO and the Afghan defence ministry to coordinate anti-terrorist activities an important step towards preventing further indiscriminate strikes," he added.

After talks with his Afghan counterpart Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, Lavrov told reporters that help to Afghanistan would not only come from deploying more troops.

"Therefore, we support the Afghan leadership stand in wanting more support in reconstruction efforts," he said through a translator.

The United States, Afghanistan's main Western partner, is planning to deploy around 17,000 more troops this summer and has called on other allies to also step up their contributions as the insurgency deepens.

There are already about 75,000 foreign soldiers in the country, most of them Americans and Europeans and none from Russia.

The ministers signed an agreement to increase bilateral efforts to fight drug-trafficking in the region. Afghanistan supplies the bulk of the world's illicit drugs that are smuggled to many countries, including Russia.

Lavrov was due to meet President Hamid Karzai later, the Afghan government said. They were to discuss possible Russian arms supplies to the country, Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency reported from Kabul, citing diplomats.

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