"We are not going to either decrease or increase the number of military personnel there. We have not been ordered to do so in the future, although there is certainly a possibility of both. Everything will depend on the current political situation," Ivanov told a news conference after arriving in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The minister said that a permanent combat readiness battalion and border guard units are currently deployed on the islands. "That is enough for now," he said.
The transition of the units deployed on the Kuril Islands to contract service will start, most likely, not earlier than 2008.
The minister also said the increased combat training of troops in the Far Eastern Military District did not mean that Russia had an aggressive attitude toward Japan.
