MILITARY & TECHNICAL * COOPERATION *

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#NEW LEVEL OF RUSSIA-GREECE MILITARY-TECHNICAL COOPERATION#

MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti's Olga Semenova) - The foreign economic contacts between Russia and Greece in the field of military-technical cooperation have in recent years reached a qualitatively new level, become dynamic and on-going, Alexander Smelyakov, chief of the public and media relations of Rosoboronexport, has said on Friday.

He spoke on eve of the international Defendory International'2004 exhibition of arms and military equipment of the land forces, air force and navy, due in Athens on October 5 through 9.

Among the largest projects within such cooperation Smelyakov cited the Greek purchase of Russian air-defence systems, such as the S-300PMU1, Tor-M1 and OSA-AKM antiaircraft missile systems (they have created air defence zones in mainland and insular Greece), two landing hovercrafts, unprecedented in the world and proving their worth in the Aegean Sea.

"A third landing hovercraft is now in the making for the Greek navy on the stocks of the Ship-Building Firm Almaz under contract with Rosoboronexport", Smelyakov said.

He also cited as promising areas of cooperation "comprehensive post-guarantee servicing of the earlier supplied military equipment with help from the Russian-Greek joint venture Rosoboronservice-Hellas, equipping the Greek army with armoured machines and radio electronic facilities, updating of the military equipment passed to Greece from Germany, giving assistance for the most efficient use and operation of the earlier supplied equipment, training of Greek military specialists".

For greater efficiency of such cooperation Rosoboronexport proposes, with the Russian and Greek governments' support, "broad use of offset agreements and programmes, training and retraining of specialists for various sectors of the Greek economy, passing of military and non-military technologies, purchase of Greek products in demand in Russia".

"The experience of Russian-Greek military-technical contacts, realisation of offset forms of cooperation largely encourage the national industry, permit mastering and integration into the Greek economy of unique Russian technologies, place at Greek defence factories counter-orders for the manufacture of parts and units for the Russian military machines, their assembly and repair", Smelyakov said.

By way of example he cited the offset contract on the supply of Zubr landing hovercrafts to the Greek navy. The contract intends the creation of infrastructure elements for such ships' coastal basing and servicing.

"Use of the offset arrangement could increase the capabilities of the Greek merchant marine for shipping Russian arms and other foreign-trade exports, implement other economic projects to mutual advantage", the Rosoboronexport spokesman said.

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