• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

DEFENSE MINISTER GIVES ACCOUNT OF HIS SIBERIAN TOUR TO PUTIN

RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov reported to Vladimir Putin on the results of his trip to the Siberian military district.

During the meeting between the Russian President and the Cabinet members, the minister reported that his trip was primarily dedicated to the issues of military training and pre-conscription preparation of the youth.

"I focused on these issues because, in accordance with your decision, I have already instructed the General Staff to start the preparation for the transition from a two-year service to a 12-month service term starting in 2008," Mr. Ivanov stated.

He said that the Defense Ministry must focus, in particular, on pre-conscription training in specialties that require high level of technical skills.

In addition, Mr. Ivanov reported that during his trip to the Siberian military district he inspected the socio-economic situation in the region, including the impact of the monetization law on living conditions of the military personnel.

Sergei Ivanov also stated that the re-integration of the Railway troops into the Armed Forces had been conducted in a smooth and orderly manner.

"In 2004, we decided to re-integrate the Railway troops into the Armed Forces. The task had been carried out smoothly and without problems. As a result, fifty thousand military personnel had been added to the Armed Forces," Mr. Ivanov underlined.