#5
Putin criticizes idea of armed forces rushing to contract
ITAR-TASS

Vladivostok, 26 August: Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the politicians who capitalize on the idea of an introduction of contract service in the army within a year.

"Many politicians use the subject for their own petty goals. Anyone can promise anything, if responsibility to fulfill those promises is delegated to others," Putin said during his meeting with conscript sailors aboard the Marshal Shaposhnikov large ASW ship.

Putin believes that a premature transition of the army to contracts might discredit the very idea of contractual service. A general decision on when to switch over to the professional army will be taken only after the authorities scrutinize results of a current experiment with contracts in the Pskov Airborne Division, he stressed.

"At first, we thought greater monthly allowances would be enough," Putin said, adding that a different problem surfaced later - that of providing contract servicemen with flats.

"It is not enough to build barracks for them, we will have to build apartment blocks, which means a somewhat different budget," he said.

The government will do an overall calculation of contract service costs once the experiment in the Pskov Airborne Division is over, Putin indicated.

"We are taking gradual steps, the state will have more capability as long as the economy keeps growing," Putin said.

He believes that contract servicemen will make up the core of the armed forces in future.

BACK TO THE TOP    #220 CONTENTS    NEXT ARTICLE