Russia, Israel agree to boost military cooperation

Russia has signed a long-term agreement with Israel on military cooperation, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Monday.

"We have just signed a long-term agreement on military cooperation between the two defense ministries. We have discussed a number of issues of military technical cooperation," said Serdyukov after meeting with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak.

The agreement laid out the framework for general directions of bilateral military cooperation, Itar-Tass news agency cited a ministry spokesman as saying.

"It will create a legal basis for further agreements on cooperation in specific areas and for contracts in the area of military technical cooperation," said the spokesman.

Russia has bought 12 Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles, and some 50 servicemen are being trained to operate them, said Serdyukov.

The minister said the two countries were cooperating on a range of issues in different areas, especially in the fight against terrorism and non-proliferation.

Source: Xinhua