Russian President Pledges Further Military Reform

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, May 17, 2003

Russian President Pledges Further Military Reform

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Friday a further military reform, saying the army must be able to defend the country and its allies.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Friday a further military reform, saying the army must be able to defend the country and its allies.

The Russian army must be able to "effectively cooperate with the armed forces of other countries in the fight against common threats," Putin said at his annual State of Nation Address before a joint session of parliament.

He said the key problems of the military reform "are to thoroughly rearm them, to perfect the principles of recruitment, and to improve the structure of the armed forces."

"We need a professional and well-armed army to guarantee the smooth and peaceful development of our country," Putin added.

He revealed that Russia is developing a new generation of modern weaponry, including strategic weapons, but declined to give details.

"These weapons will ensure Russia's and its allies' defense capability in the long term," he said. "The strengthening and modernization of the nuclear deterrence forces will be a substantial component of the military reform."

He also said Russia will continue transferring ground troops, paratrooper units and permanent readiness units to a contract basis.

"This work should be completed by the end of 2007," he said.

The Russian government decided last November to transfer 92 units of Russian ground troops, airborne forces and marines with a combined strength of 166,000 servicemen to a contract basis by the end of 2007. Russian military now has 1.162 million personnel.

Meanwhile, Putin proposed reducing military service to one year from two beginning from 2008.

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