Changes in Russian army hard, necessary: Medvedev

MOSCOW. October 29. KAZINFORM Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday changes in the Russian army were tough but vital. Kazinform refers to China Daily.

"Our army is changing now, and difficult though these changes may be, they are necessary, because we understand that our armed forces will not be modern and efficient, more combat ready and better armed, if officers' salaries will not stimulate them to normal work, because then we will have no normal defense," said Medvedev as quoted by the Interfax news agency.

"I am keeping this under control as the commander-in-chief, and will continue doing so," Medvedev said during a visit to a military training center near Solnechnogorsk outside Moscow.

He said money should be allocated for modernizing armed forces, and the military should start using digital means of communication by 2012.

Shortly after a brief war with Georgia in August 2008, Russia unveiled military reform plans aimed at modernizing its armed forces, improving their efficiency and raising the living standards of servicemen and women. Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com for full version