Defense Minister: Russia ready to help modernize Finnish armed forcesMay 29, 2013 - 18:49 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia is ready to expand military contacts with Finland and to help the country modernize its armed forces, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday, May 29, according to RIA Novosti. Shoigu is on a two-day visit to Finland hosted by his Finnish counterpart Carl Haglund. “This is the first contact at the defense ministerial level. I hope we will expand contacts at the level of chiefs of staff and commanders of military districts,” Shoigu said at a joint news conference with Haglund in Helsinki. Shoigu said Russia could provide assistance to Finland in the modernization of its army. “Our military experts will hold a series of meetings on this issue in the near future,” he said. The Finnish military needs modernizing, and will buy new equipment for its air force in the next 10 years, Haglund said. During the Soviet era, Finland bought much of its military equipment from the USSR, including MiG-21 fighters, Mi-8 helicopters and air-to-air missiles. After the break-up of the Soviet Union it switched to western suppliers. Finland is the only non-NATO EU country bordering Russia. The Finnish Defense Forces, like their Russian counterparts, are partly manned by conscripts. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | About 173 million drams and more than 30 beneficiary funds. "The Power of One Dram" is 4 years old In June 2020, the exclusive joint corporate social responsibility initiative of Idram and IDBank "The Power of One Dram" was launched. CSTO budget “to be adjusted due to Yerevan’s non-payment of contributions” The CSTO budget for the current year requires adjustments due to the refusal of Yerevan to pay their share of contributions. Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. |