MOSCOW, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will deliver more planes to Greece to fight a wave of major forest fires in the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a telephone conversation with the Greek prime minister Thursday.
Greece announced earlier that up to 40,000 hectares of forest had burned down in the country so far this summer. In the provinces of Attica in southern Greece and Boeotia in the east, more than a sixth of the woodland has been destroyed.
"The Greek prime minister [Konstandinos Karamanlis] has requested extra assistance from Russian aircraft in extinguishing forest fires, which have developed into a severe threat in the country," the Kremlin press service said.
"Putin told Karamanlis that in view of the friendly relations between the two countries, the Russian Emergencies Ministry would deliver more aircraft to Greece as soon as possible."
A Mi-26T helicopter that can carry up to 15 metric tons of water is currently involved in a firefighting operation in the country.
Scorching weather has caused large-scale forest fires throughout the Balkan Peninsula this summer. Several mountainous districts in eastern Serbia are still being swept by fires, and in one region, some 1,000 hectares of woodland have burned down.
Putin received Monday a similar request from the prime minister of Serbia, where an emergencies ministry official said an Il-76 tanker aircraft could be used. The "water bomber" returned last weekend from a firefighting mission in neighboring Bulgaria, where it released over 400 metric tons of water on fires near Stara Zagora, in the central part of the country, Saturday. The assistance was provided free of charge, in line with an intergovernmental agreement.
The Kremlin said in addition to the firefighting efforts, Putin and the Greek premier also discussed bilateral cooperation in fuel and energy.
