The Russian military presence in Armenia strengthened by aviation aims at solving merely defensive problems and does not have an offensive nature. Commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force colonel general Vladimir Mikhailov, who arrived in Yerevan yesterday, stated it. The commander-in-chief was at the controls of his plane himself. “We defend Armenia, but we are not going to attack anyone,” – he stressed. The colonel general reported that he would discuss questions of strengthening of the military and military engineering cooperation between the two countries with the state and military leadership of Armenia. V.Mikhailov’s trip is notable because the heads of the CIS states have recently confirmed his appointment as chairman of the Council of the Commonwealth Air Defense. In the course of the past 3 years we perform joint military duty with Armenia within the framework of the CIS United Air Defense System, he reminded. “Within that period of time the Russian air group was reorganized into an airbase, rearmed with new contemporary planes, and antiaircraft and missile complexes “S-300,” which have already been doing military duty for a year, were set at the Russian military base,” – he noted. The commander-in-chief reported that he would visit the Russian airbase in Yerevan and solve the existing problems. “The Russian party has fully met the obligations on the military engineering cooperation with Armenia,” – the colonel general pointed out. In his words, the last plane, which will deliver equipment and antiaircraft arms, will arrive in Armenia today. V.Mikhailov evaluated the alertness of the Armenian air defense as “good.” The Armenian party can exploit materiel, prepares flying personnel well, the colonel general said.
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