ANKARA, September 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has proposed stepping up military-technical cooperation with Turkey, the Russian defense minister said, according to a Turkish daily Monday.
The Milliyet reported that Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov believes joint projects would strengthen the Turkish armed forces and contribute to the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries.
The minister advocated bilateral cooperation on the fight against terrorism and joint space projects, the paper said, adding that Ivanov highlighted a 1994 agreement between Russia and Turkey as the first agreement between Russia and a NATO member-state.
"In my opinion, even this example proves the two countries' willingness to develop advanced cooperation in the sphere of military applied technologies," the minister said.
The paper said Russia had proposed five joint projects, including assembling Russia's armored vehicles, particularly the Tiger armored off-road vehicle, in Turkey; production in Russia of armor-piercing weapons systems for the Turkish army; joint production of search-and-rescue vessels; integration of the Russian Archer antiaircraft artillery system with a similar system manufactured by Aselsan, a Turkish company; and joint military applied space programs.
According to Ivanov, Russia intends to bid on a renewed Turkish tender to build attack helicopters, with its Kamov Ka-52 Erdogan prototype that meets Turkish army standards and is far less expensive than its Western counterpart.
If Turkey awards the tender to Russia, it would be able to create its own helicopter building industry, with the possibility of joint helicopter production for export to third countries, Ivanov said, adding that this would depend on political decisions.
"It is hard to imagine that political factors are not dominant in the implementation of such major projects," he said. "The most important thing is to identify the degree to which these factors play a role."
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