Russia Ready to Help Finland with Army Modernization

Russia is ready to expand military contacts with Finland and plans to help the country modernize its armed forces. This information was announced by Sergey Shoygu, Defence Minister of the Russian Federation.

It should be noted that Mr. Shoygu is now on a two-day visit to Finland hosted by his Finnish counterpart Carl Haglund. “This is the first contact at the defence ministerial level. I hope we will expand our military contacts,” Russia’s Defence Minister said at a press conference in Helsinki.

In addition, Mr. Shoygu stated that 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 pointed out.

According to Carl Haglund, the Finnish military needs modernizing and plans to purchase new equipment for its air force in the next 10 years.

It’s necessary to mention that during the Soviet era, Finland bought much of its military equipment from the USSR, including MiG-21 fighters and Mi-8 helicopters. After the break-up of the Soviet Union the country shifted its attention to western suppliers.