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Russia to cut army by 10% to 1 million by 2013
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-24 14:53

MOSCOW -- Russia plans to cut its armed forces by more than 10 percent to 1 million by 2013, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Monday.

"We propose to have an army of 1 million within four or five years, that is by 2013," Serdyukov told reporters after a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev.

He added that the Defence Ministry had earlier planned to realize this goal by 2016.

"We have offered to conduct this (reduction) at an accelerated rate, understanding that material incentives should be significantly increased," the defence minister said.

According to official statistics, the number of Russian army servicemen stood at 1.13 million at the end of last year.

The Defense Ministry has said it lacks money to purchase equipment and strengthen arms research as 70 percent of the country's military expenditure is used to pay the salaries of servicemen.