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PUTIN CALLS CIS FOR CLOSER MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP

RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's President Vladimir Putin highlights urgent necessity for closer military technological partnership within the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS.

Ties with other countries on the Collective Security Treaty Organization-Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan-remain Russia's top priority, the President said to the military technological partnership commission as it was holding session today.

"To promote a stronger collective security system is our basic objective for now," he stressed.

The Commonwealth must streamline its legal basis and remove bureaucratic obstacles to extend the cooperation. CIS member countries also need major improvements on their military personnel training arrangements, added the President.

This year has increased allocations on CIS countries' military personnel training in Russian-based higher educational institutions. Such training, on unified curricula, spectacularly enhances the CIS defense potential, pointed out Mr. Putin.

He emphatically called for closer military technological ties with other European countries-in particular, on joint arms R&D projects. "Such partnership spectacularly increases Russian military-industrial resources, mainly through cost cuts and joint use of leading-edge technologies. We have seen numerous instances to convince us of that."

President Putin highlighted Russia's skyrocketing military technological contacts with other countries. Industrial companies who obtained the right of independent spare part exports and post-guarantee maintenance have become much more active. Russian military-oriented exports thus increased by 200 million US dollars last year to leap over a $5.7 billion mark, he said. Russia is firmly established on the world's top five military-oriented exporters.

The national military-industrial complex has ample opportunities for further progress, which promises huge profits, said the President. In that context, he pointed out companies entitled to independent transactions in the arms market, and called to disentangle them from the red tape. The demand was addressed to the Defense Ministry and Rosoboronexport Co., Russia's sole government mediator of military-oriented exports.

President Putin called to blueprint medium-term military technological partnership strategies for 2006-2010. Related prognostication is to promote companies on the military-industrial complex, whose improvements are to proceed from such forecasts-in particular, in establishing major integrated companies, he said.

The President called to diversify military technological partnership, and extend its geography.

He highlighted, in this connection, last year's considerable progress of naval weaponry exports. Even despite that, the export nomenclature did not see cardinal changes. Aviation technologies make up the bulk, as before, remarked Mr. Putin.

He called to pay close attention to search for new sales markets. "Russian manufacturers ought to be more dynamic and pressing as they advertise their produce and achievements-in particular, success at the world's foremost international arms expositions," said the President.