The United States hopes a thaw in ties between Moscow and the Western military bloc could lead to greater cooperation in the war against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

"We are ready again to seek together responses to modern challenges and threats to international security," General Nikolai Makarov said after talks in Moscow with Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, NATO's military committee chairman.

Makarov, who is chief of Russia's armed forces general staff, said that Russia was pursuing a possible deal to supply the helicopters but gave no further details.

"We are working on the question related to the helicopters as they are needed in Afghanistan. So this set of questions is at the stage of being decided," Makarov said. "The long-term interests of Russia and the alliance coincide in this region."

He said Russia would continue to provide transit routes to NATO members for cargo and personnel to support the US-led contingent in Afghanistan.

The bulk of NATO-Russian military cooperation was frozen after Russia sent troops to crush an August 2008 assault by US ally Georgia on the Caucasus republic's Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia.